Mandating Discrimination against Transgender and Intersex People (SB 182)

SB 182 targets the transgender community in Indiana in a number of ways. It would impose rigid definitions of “male” and “female” based on reproductive systems – without regard to gender identity. It also prevents Hoosiers from being able to change the sex listed on their birth certificates, unless they have “a medically verifiable disorder of sex development.”

While the bill acknowledges intersex people in this regard, an amendment was added that takes the discrimination ever further. It would require public schools, charter schools, and public colleges to designate multiple-occupancy bathrooms, locker rooms, and dorms for the exclusive use of male or female based on the new legal definition of sex – with no accommodations for intersex individuals. It also creates an avenue for anyone to sue schools or colleges for violations.

The bill also mandates that people who are incarcerated must be assigned to a facility based on their sex assigned at birth.

Transgender Hoosiers are already more likely than the general population to face physical and sexual violence in jails and prisons. When trans people are denied documents that reflect their identity, it can result in discrimination, harassment, and even violence in their everyday lives. And while bathroom bans claim to protect women, similar laws have led to intimidation and harassment against both trans people and cisgender women who don’t fit society’s narrow expectations for femininity.

No one should be targeted by legislators just for being who they are. We oppose this unnecessary, harmful bill.

The following anti-trans bills have failed, but similar language may appear in future amendments and sessions: HB 1198, HB 1362, SB 215, and HB 1427.