California bill seeks sex-only based bathroom, limits trans access

A new California bill plans to separate “intimate spaces” based on “sex, irrespective of gender identity or gender expression.”

The proposal, known as AB 1998, would define “sex” in state law as biological and immutable — male or female — and require private facilities such as bathrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms and showers to be separated accordingly in spaces where individuals typically undress or expect privacy from the opposite sex, according to the bill.

The bill is authored by Assemblymember Leticia Castillo.

Supporters say the legislation would provide clarity and more privacy for females.

Under current California law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in business establishments based on several protected classes, including sex, which the state interprets to include gender identity and gender expression.

AB 1998 would carve out a specific exception for so-called “intimate spaces,” requiring those areas to be separated according to a person’s “immutable biological sex.”

The proposal would still allow single-occupancy bathrooms to remain gender-neutral.

The legislation is being backed by the conservative advocacy group California Family Council, which says the measure responds to concerns from parents and women who feel existing policies have eroded privacy protections.

“This legislation is not theoretical. It responds to real incidents that have left women and girls feeling vulnerable, dismissed, and unheard,” the parents rights non-profit, said in a statement.

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Supporters of the proposal frequently point to several incidents they say illustrate the problem.

One allegedly occurred at a YMCA facility in 2022 when, a “male was permitted to shower in the women’s locker room alongside minor girls,” under the organization’s transgender inclusion policy, according to the family council.

More recently, a video circulated online in January allegedly showing a transgender gymgoer masturbating in a stall inside the women’s bathroom at a Planet Fitness in California.

The press release also referenced protests that erupted in 2021 following an incident at Wi Spa, where a person who identified as “androgynous male and female” was accused of exposing their genitals in the women’s spa area. The case drew national attention and fueled protests and debate over gender-identity policies in sex-segregated spaces, though the individual was ultimately found not guilty.

“Our society moved from ‘believe all women’ during the Me Too era to believing any man who says he is a woman,” said Erin Friday, an attorney with the advocacy group Our Duty and a supporter of the bill. “This places females in harm’s way, especially young girls.”

If the bill advances, it will join a growing national fight over how states balance civil rights protections for transgender people with privacy concerns raised by some parents and women’s advocacy groups.

“It’s time to stop the madness,” said Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council. “Californians are tired of policies that deny biological reality and violate the privacy rights of women and girls.”

Opponents, however, contend that restricting facility access based on biological sex could discriminate against transgender people and conflict with California’s broader civil-rights protections.

AB 1998 has not yet been assigned to a legislative committee and is likely to face significant debate in Sacramento, where Democrats hold a supermajority in the Legislature.

The proposal comes amid ongoing legal battles over gender identity policies in California. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of the United States temporarily blocked enforcement of a 2024 law signed by Gavin Newsom that barred schools from notifying parents if their child identifies as transgender, allowing legal challenges to proceed in a 6–3 ruling.