A federal judge has partially blocked Idaho’s new law that made it a crime for transgender people to use their preferred restrooms. The law, which was set to take effect next month, was challenged by six transgender Idaho residents who argued that it was unconstitutionally vague.

Background

The law, known as House Bill 752, made it a misdemeanor for a transgender person to use a restroom that doesn’t align with their birth sex in government buildings and places of public accommodation. Violating the law a second time would be a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Amanda Brailsford ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in arguing that the law is unconstitutionally vague because it fails to provide sufficient standards for law enforcement. The judge’s argument focused on the exceptions to the law’s criminal penalties, which allow a transgender person to use a restroom that doesn’t align with their birth sex if a single-user restroom is not available.

The injunction temporarily blocks law enforcement agencies from enforcing portions of the law’s criminal penalties against transgender people while the lawsuit proceeds. The state plans to appeal the injunction, with Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador calling it a ‘results-driven decision that misapplies the law, confuses the issues and misrepresents the position of the State.’

Reaction

Kell Olson, an attorney at Lambda Legal, which is representing the plaintiffs, said in a news release that the ruling will allow transgender people throughout Idaho to find and use a public restroom without the fear of arrest looming over them. The plaintiffs also claimed that the law violates equal protection and privacy rights, but the judge only ruled on the vagueness argument.

Original reporting: Idaho Education News — read the source article.