On June 3, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed HB 608, the Women's Safety and Protection Act (full text) into law. The law states as part of its purpose:
To provide protections for women and girls against sexual assault, harassment, and violence in correctional facilities, juvenile detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, dormitories, and restrooms, or where women have been traditionally afforded safety and protection from acts of abuse committed by biological men.
Where there are multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms or sleeping quarters, the new law requires transgender men and transgender women to use only those facilities that conform to their biological sex. The limitation applies to public schools, domestic violence shelters, correctional facilities and juvenile detention facilities. The new law also provides a detailed biological definition of male and female that is to be applied to any state law or administrative rule that refers to an individual's sex. It additionally provides:
"Sex" means an individual's biological sex, either male or female, as observed or clinically verified at birth. Gender identity and other subjective terms shall not apply to this Part and shall not be used as synonyms or substitutes for sex.
The new law goes on to provide in part:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no governmental agency ... shall prohibit distinctions between the sexes with respect to athletics, correctional facilities, juvenile detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, or other accommodation where biology, safety, or privacy are implicated and that result in separate accommodations that are substantially related to the important government interest of protecting the health, safety, and privacy of individuals in such circumstances.
The law creates a cause of action for injunctive relief or damages to anyone who suffers direct or indirect harm from a violation of the Act. It provides:
It is a rebuttable presumption that requiring an individual to be housed with members of the opposite sex at a domestic violence shelter, juvenile detention center, corrections facility, or public school that is subject to the provisions of this Part is inherently discriminatory and is a cognizable harm to biological women under this Part.
Louisiana Illuminator has more details on the bill. ADF issued a press release announcing the governor's signing of the bill.
