Bathroom Bills Are Upending the Meetings Industry Across the U.S.
Skift Take
Besides stripping away the fundamental rights of an already marginalized group, the stack of "Bathroom Bills" piling up in state legislatures around the country will only drive away meetings and conventions, and the valuable economic income they bring with them.
Currently, North Carolina is the only state where a so-called "Bathroom Bill" has become law, but that may not be the case for long. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 12 states now have similar bills pending as of February 17.
Bathroom bills, or legislation requiring a person to use a restroom, locker room, or similar facility based on the sex stated on their birth certificate, make it a crime for transgender people to use facilities for the sex with which they identify. These bills are often used for state governments to restrict other laws protecting lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.
Texas Senate Bill 6, coined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as the "Texas Privacy Act," would define biological sex as the sex stated on a person's birth certificate and make it a crime for the opposite sex to use such facilities. It also prohibits local governments from issuing related nondiscriminatory ordinances in response. Advocates for the legislation claim it will prevent male sexual predators from posing as women in bathrooms — but experts say there is no evidence to support this assertion.
However, there is evidence that laws like these ca
