Senate Committee Advances Bill to Protect Physical Privacy, Safety in Arkansas

Legislation,

On Thursday, the Senate State Agencies Committee passed S.B. 486 by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville).

This good bill protects physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings and in state and local jails.

The bill also applies to changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in shelters for victims of domestic violence.

S.B. 486 is similar to a law Arkansas passed in 2023 to protect privacy in public schools and on overnight school trips.

The bill would require the facilities named in the bill to be designated for “male” or “female” use. The measure generally requires people to use the facility that corresponds to their biological sex.

Over the years, we have seen efforts to house men with women in jails, let men stay in women’s shelters, and give men access to women’s changing areas, locker rooms, showers, and restrooms.

S.B. 486 is common sense legislation narrowly tailored to protect physical privacy and safety in public buildings and shelters in Arkansas.

The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Bill Filed to Protect Physical Privacy in Shelters, State Buildings, Jails

Legislation,

On Monday, lawmakers filed legislation protecting people’s physical privacy and safety in certain shelters, in state and local jails, and in public buildings.

The measure is similar to a law Arkansas passed in 2023 to protect privacy in public schools and on overnight school trips.

S.B. 486 by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) protects physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings and in state and local jails.

The bill also applies to changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in shelters for victims of domestic violence.

S.B. 486 would require these facilities to be designated for “male” or “female” use. The bill generally requires people to use the facility that corresponds to their biological sex.

Over the years, we have seen efforts to house men with women in jails, let men stay in women’s shelters, and give men access to women’s changing areas, locker rooms, showers, and restrooms.

S.B. 486 is common sense legislation narrowly tailored to protect physical privacy and safety in public buildings and shelters in Arkansas.

You Can Read The Bill Here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Montana Legislature Debates Bill Similar to One Arkansas Passed in 2023

LGBT, ,

Recently Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Sara Beth Nolan spoke to the Montana House Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that requires schools, prisons, domestic violence shelters, and other included facilities to designate spaces like locker rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters as either males or females.

The bill is similar to a measure Arkansas passed in 2023.

Act 317 by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) protects privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities. The law requires public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use. It also addresses sleeping accommodations for students on overnight school trips — something that has been a serious problem for students in other states.

Laws like these are necessary to protect students from federal policy changes that seem to come with each election cycle.

In 2016 the Obama Administration issued federal “guidelines” directing every public school in America — including schools in Arkansas — to let biological males use girls’ locker rooms, showers, bathrooms, and similar facilities at school. The Trump Administration rescinded those federal policies in 2018, which gave schools a brief reprieve, but the Biden Administration moved to reinstate the policies shortly after the 2020 election.

Since his inauguration last week, President Trump has issued a series of executive orders addressing issues like this one, but a future president could repeal those executive orders.

State laws can help clarify how public schools protect student privacy in the face of changing federal policy.

You can watch ADF’s committee testimony below.

READ MORE