Idaho transgender residents sue over nation’s strictest bathroom ban

Six transgender Idaho residents filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a new state bathroom law that could expose them to criminal penalties simply for using restrooms, locker rooms or changing areas that match their gender identity.

The case targets House Bill 752, signed by Gov. Brad Little on March 31 and set to take effect on July 1. The law, now Session Law Chapter 263, makes Idaho the latest battleground in a widening legal fight over how far states can go in policing transgender people’s daily movements in schools, workplaces and other public spaces.

Under the statute, a person who knowingly enters a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with sex assigned at birth can face criminal punishment. A first offense can be charged as a misdemeanor and carry up to a year in jail. A second offense within five years can be treated as a felony with as much as five years in prison.

The law reaches far beyond state offices. It applies in government-owned buildings and in places of public accommodation, including private businesses such as libraries, airports, malls, gas stations, restaurants, entertainment venues and hospitals. The plaintiffs say that scope makes the measure especially dangerous because it invites harassment, exclusion and uneven enforcement in routine settings where people should be able to move without fear.

The complaint names Attorney General Raul Labrador and all 43 Idaho county prosecutors as defendants and asks a federal judge in Boise to declare the law unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Idaho, Lambda Legal, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and Alturas Law Group, PLLC.

The plaintiffs argue that the measure violates due process, equal protection and privacy rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. They also say the law is unconstitutionally vague because it fails to clearly define key terms such as “biological sex,” “reasonably available” and “dire need.” The challenge also seeks class-action status for transgender people across Idaho whose bathroom access would be restricted.

Supporters have framed the measure as a public safety policy, but the lawsuit says the law is built on inaccurate stereotypes and would instead expose transgender people to likely violence, harassment and psychological harm. Advocacy groups say only Utah, Florida and Kansas have criminal bans on transgender bathroom use, and Idaho’s law is the only one that extends to private businesses, while also carrying the steepest penalties among those criminal-ban states.