State Rep. Thomas Morrison ( R-Palatine ), on Jan. 25, again filed a new bathroom bill that would essentially relegate transgender Illinois students to using either designated washroom and changing-room facilities or the facilities available for their gender-identity assigned at birth.
This is Morrision's second attempt at such a bill. His first try, filed in Jan. 2016, stalled in the House Rules Committee after being referred there the following April.
A high school in Morrison's district was the center of much controversy in late 2015 when a transgender student sued to be able to use the girls' locker room facilities. The Obama administration deemed that the school was in violation of Title IX regulations, which placed the school's federal funding in peril. A deal was struck in Dec. 2015. But that resulting deal came over the objections of many pupils' families, some of whom later sued the government and school board.
Activist Rick Garcia, who was present when the bill was introduced, said he was confident that Morrison would not be able to pick up much support, since neither leadership in the House or Senate would be likely to support his bill.
"Truth be told, I don't think it's going anywhere," Garcia said.
The bill, HR664, is the second reprise of failed anti-LGBT legislation in the 2017 legislative session. State Senator Kyle McCarter ( R-Lebanon ), on Jan. 11, filed a bill that would prohibit state and local governments from retaliatory action against an individual or individuals if they act under the belief that a marriage is an institution reserved for unions between a man and a woman. He sponsored a similar bill that failed the following year.
HR664 can be viewed at bit.ly/2jfOs9v .
Related coverage at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Legislation-targets-Illinois-trans-students-statewide-coalition-responds/57924.html
