New indecent exposure bill draws concern
A new bill from a Republican lawmaker that seeks to enhance punishment for any person who commits indecent exposure in bathrooms is drawing concern from an advocate for the LGBTQ community.
The bill, introduced by Rep. John Ragan, R-oak Ridge, would expand the “offense of indecent exposure to include incidents occurring in a restroom, locker room, dressing room, or shower, designated for single-sex, multi-person use, if the offender is a member of the opposite sex than the sex designated for use.”
In an interview, Ragan said Wednesday the bill is necessary in order to “protect members of the opposite sex from having their privacy invaded.”
Lawmaker: ‘I don’t care if they think they’re a woman’
In a hypothetical example, Ragan cited his two granddaughters, who are both under 5 years old, who could be out with their mother in a public restroom and have someone flash them.
“I don’t care if they think they’re a woman. They’ve still exposed my granddaughters to something that they shouldn’t be exposed to,” he said.
When asked if he was trying address which restroom a transgender person could use, Ragan said he was merely seeking to enhance the state’s indecent exposure law, which currently is limited to public places.
“All I’ve done is expand that venue,” he said.
Bill: No exception for ‘gender dysphoria, gender confusion’
The bill does not seek to change the definition of indecent exposure, which is the intentional exposing of a person’s genitals or buttocks to someone or engaging in sexual contact or sexual penetration in a public place.
But Ragan’s bill does include language that appears to be aimed at the transgender community.
It includes a section that says, “A medical, psychiatric, or psychological diagnosis of gender dysphoria, gender confusion, or similar conditions, in the absence of untreated mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, does not serve as a defense to the offense of indecent exposure.”
Despite the inclusion of the language in the bill, Ragan said the measure did not have a similar aim as the failed 2016 proposal that sought to require people to use public restrooms that correspond with their sex at birth.
“This just is intended to make sure that the venues in which this crime or misbehavior is appropriately expanded,” he said.
LGBTQ advocates worried about ‘criminalizing transgender people’
But Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, remains concerned about Ragan’s bill.
Sanders said the subject matter and Ragan’s history of “running ANTI-LGBTQ bills” have led his organization to flag it as potentially worrisome.
“Based on how the bill uses the word ‘sex,’ it could be used to criminalize transgender people using restrooms and locker rooms,” he said. “Those are some of the issues we will consider as the legislative session unfolds.”
Although the bill, which was filed Wednesday, does not have a Senate sponsor yet, Ragan said Sen. Mark Pody, R-lebanon, will carry the measure in the upper chamber.
Separate bill requires attorney general to defend schools
Meanwhile, a separate bill was introduced this week that would direct the state attorney general to defend any schools sued for having a policy that requires students to use the restroom corresponding with their sex at birth.
Rep. Andy Holt, R-dresden, and Sen. Joey Hensley, introduced the bill, which failed during the last legislative session.
The new bill, HB 1274 and SB 1499, requires the AG to defend a local education agency or its employees if they adopt a “policy or practice designed to protect the privacy of students from exposure to others of the opposite biological sex in situations where students may be in various states of undress by designating multi-person locker rooms, restrooms, or other facilities for use based only on one’s biological sex.”
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.