The Alabama state legislature reconvenes next month, and one bill that has been pre-filed would clamp down on public restrooms in Alabama.
The bill bears several similarities to the so-called “Bathroom Bill”, HB2, that passed in North Carolina last March, requiring individuals to use restrooms and changing facilities corresponding with their biological sex.
Alabama’s version will be known as the Alabama Privacy Act if passed. The bill is sponsored by Senator Phil Williams. It states bathrooms designed to be used by multiple people would have to be “exclusively for persons of the same gender”, or would need to be staffed by an attendant to monitor the appropriate use of the restroom and answer questions from users.
Similar laws are being prepared in several other states. They’re viewed as a response to the Obama administration’s directive to schools nationwide to allow transgender students to use their choice of restroom or locker room.