Wyoming Passes Law Banning Trans-Identified Males from Women’s Spaces in Public Buildings

Wyoming has become the most recent state to restrict trans-identified males from accessing women’s spaces in government buildings, as part of a broader national initiative to ensure the privacy and safety of women and girls.
On Monday, Republican Governor Mark Gordon signed House Bill 72 into law. The measure had passed the Republican-majority Wyoming House of Representatives by a 52-8 vote on February 7, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition. The Republican-led Wyoming Senate approved the bill in a 25-6 vote last week, with four Republicans siding with Democrats against it.
The new law, set to take effect on July 1, defines “male” and “female” based on biological sex and mandates that public facilities provide separate changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping areas specifically for males and females. It bans people from using spaces designated for the opposite sex.
While the bill allows for “reasonable accommodations” in some cases, it explicitly excludes access to multi-occupancy spaces such as changing rooms, restrooms, or sleeping areas designated for the opposite sex.
The legislation further specifies that anyone who encounters a person of the opposite sex in a designated changing room or restroom may take legal action against the public facility that allowed the intrusion or failed to prevent it. The bill also provides individuals the right to take legal action if they are required to share sleeping quarters with someone of the opposite sex in either a correctional or educational facility.
Sara Beth Nelson, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty organization, praised Governor Gordon for signing the bill. “States have a responsibility to safeguard the privacy, safety, and dignity of women and girls,” she said. “Allowing men into women’s spaces—whether in public buildings, schools, or correctional facilities—violates privacy, poses a safety risk, and disregards the biological differences between the sexes.” Nelson added that the new law would protect women and girls in Wyoming for generations to come.
With this new law, Wyoming becomes the 16th state to pass legislation that requires trans-identified individuals to use bathrooms and other sex-segregated spaces based on their biological sex in government buildings. States like Florida and Utah have laws covering all public facilities, including K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. Other states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Ohio, have similar laws for K-12 schools and certain public buildings, while Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia apply their laws to K-12 schools.
Concerns regarding safety and privacy have been raised over the inclusion of trans-identified males in women’s spaces. In 2023, a group of sorority sisters at the University of Wyoming sued a sorority after it admitted a trans-identified male member, claiming they were uncomfortable with his presence. A federal judge dismissed the case, stating that the organization’s bylaws did not define the criteria for being a woman.
Female swimmers at the University of Pennsylvania, who had to share a locker room with trans-identified male swimmer Lia Thomas, reported feeling “extreme discomfort” due to his male anatomy.
In Colorado, a school district was sued after a female student was forced to share a bed with a trans-identified male on a school trip. In Virginia, a school district defended its policy allowing students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity, even after a registered sex offender accessed a girls’ locker room at a high school.
Amie Ichikawa, head of a nonprofit organization supporting incarcerated women, discussed the consequences of allowing trans-identified males in women’s prisons at a *Christian Post* event last year. She highlighted that 44 male-born individuals have successfully transferred to women’s prisons, resulting in complications, including reports of women becoming pregnant while in custody.