Utah Creates ‘Snitch Line’ For Trans People In Bathrooms
Image: Source: Utah House of Reps
Trans people in the state of Utah are now at even greater risk of legal punishment, due to the creation of a ‘snitch line’ to report on them in “privacy spaces” like changing rooms and restrooms.
The lengthy form allows citizens of the state to specify the details of each ‘violation’, and either elect to have their names included or excluded from the report once it is investigated by the state.
The snitch line is in compliance with Utah’s recent implementation of House Bill 257: Sex-Based Designations For Privacy, Anti-Bullying and Women’s Opportunities, which was passed in January. These amendments banned trans Utahns from using the bathroom or competing in a sport that matches their gender identity.
The bans are imposed on trans people in all of Utah’s public buildings and that transgender people could be charged if they “cause affront or alarm.”
In the months leading up to the changes of the law, there were numerous concerns about the way that the laws would be integrated and how they would affect everyone – trans or cisgender.
One trans man testified in Utah’s Senate Business and Labor Committee in January: “I have to decide whether I follow the law and make women uncomfortable in the bathroom and be investigated, or if I break the law.”
Other states such as Missouri and Indiana have also attempted to create tip lines to poor results, often due to coordinated trolling efforts that would drown out any ‘legitimate’ tips.
Most recently, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita launched a similar tip line in February 2024, but received a number of meme submissions instead. These included Godzilla with a trans flag, citing the Bible’s passages on teen pregnancy and the full scripts for Eurotrip, Oppenheimer and, of course, The Bee Movie.
Trans hate on the rise in America, worldwide
Furthermore, an increasing number of cis men and women are being mistakenly identified as trans both in Utah and other American states.
Earlier this year in Utah, trans man Alex Franco was found dead in the desert after being shot and killed in front of his girlfriend’s home by three teenagers.
Also in Utah, state school board member Natalie Cline wrongly labelled a girls’ basketball player as trans. Additionally, there are unfortunately an increasing number of examples in the USA where both trans and cisgender people have been killed in relation to anti-trans violence.
Increasing levels of trans hate aren’t just exclusive to the USA or the UK (less affectionately known as ‘TERF Island’) though – anti-trans hate has also been on the rise in Australia.
According to the Trans Justice Project’s 2023 report, 9 in 10 participants of the survey had witnessed online anti-trans hate, while half of all respondents had personally experienced anti-trans hate.
The fact that cisgender people are being regularly targeted as transgender shows that these hateful laws do not bloody work. Should any politician try and establish such things as a tip line or introduce legislation that harms transgender people, then I strongly suggest that the community be prepared to fight legalised harassment and hatred like this, tooth and nail; including challenging legislation in court.
This used to be a country that accepted diversity and supported inclusion in our communities. Not any more. And I further suggest emailing any State tourist office or organisation in Utah, saying why you will never spend so much as a solitary cent in a State of the USA, that passes suing hateful discriminatory legislation designed to drive a wedge between communities.
Hate is a learned behaviour.