An Arkansas Senate panel on Monday advanced a bill for the second time that would create criminal penalties for knowingly entering and remaining in a bathroom of the opposite sex while a minor is present.According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 270 by Sen. John Payton, R-Wilburn, in a voice vote with audible dissent. The measure, originally approved by the panel last week, returned to the committee to correct a drafting error. The bill moves to the full Senate for further consideration.
Payton told committee members Monday his bill was needed to protect minors from “exposure to certain elements of undress by the opposite sex.” He said his bill would apply to both “transgender” and “heterosexual” people and would require a high bar for prosecution.
The legislation would generally criminalize instances where a person 18 or older knowingly “enters into and remains in a public changing facility that is assigned to persons of the opposite sex while knowing a minor of the opposite sex is present in the public changing facility.”
The bill defines “public changing facility” as including “without limitation a restroom, bathroom, locker room, or shower room.” These facilities do not include “a private dressing area open to the public that is designed for changing into and out of clothing that is for sale in a commercial establishment that engages in the sale of clothing.”
Under the bill, a person would be guilty of a misdemeanor, Payton said.
Opponents have said the bill would create the “most extreme bathroom ban” in the nation if enacted. Critics have said the measure could lead to the prosecution of transgender people for using public restrooms while doing little to protect minors from sexual indecency.
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