HB1442

I am a registered New Hampshire voter, asking you to OPPOSE this bill. Thank you.

I oppose this bill because it goes against the principles of our state. “Live free or die” is often taken out of context. Approving this bill is not only a waste of my taxpayer dollars but is oxymoronic to our states motto. Never once have I felt uncomfortable using the restroom of another gender or sexual orientation. It’s unfair and unsafe for our trans community members to be subjected to using their assigned at birth restroom. Some people are so well passing that it would cause further issues having someone who entirely looks and presents as a man entering and using the women’s restroom.

HB 1442 is truly horrid, and I strongly oppose it. This bill seeks to offer some kind of a biology lesson but still misses the mark and goes to great lengths to discriminate against transgender people and others. There are, again, dozens of other ways in which gender is expressed in nature. These pithy explanations of "male" and "female" do not cover the gamut and, again, only serve to reveal the depth of discrimination present in our statehouse. Do not pass HB 1442.

Not appropriate! This is blatant discrimination against trans persons. It is absolutely impossible to police bathroom use..

This bill is attempting to shut out transgender people from public life and punished when they have committed no crime. There is no compelling argument that this will improve safety. Instead, it will result in real harm to transgender people, intersex people, and anyone else who is suspected of falling into those categories.

I James Karoutsos of Manchester, NH oppose this bill.

I do not agree with the state limiting who is allowed to use the bathroom. It has been proven that these laws do not protect women and only work to dehumanize trans people. Forcing a trans woman to use the men's bathroom is incredibly dangerous to their safety. Trans people deserve the right to use the bathroom or facilities that best align to them, that they feel most safe in. The bathroom is a private place to do business and go. This bill does not protect women, it hurts them and opens up the door for discrimination and harassment simply because of genitalia.

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Here are the key reasons to oppose NH HB 2442: - Undermines Local Control and Curriculum: Critics argue the bill allows state-level, vocal minorities to dictate curriculum, removing control from local school boards and educators. - Restricts Essential Education: Opponents suggest the bill erases vital lessons regarding race, identity, and justice, limiting students' understanding of complex,20th-century history and social issues. - Vague and Harmful Definitions: The legislation's broad language, aimed at banning DEI, is viewed by advocates as "vague, irrational, and incomprehensible," potentially creating legal chaos for schools. Threatens Special Education and Access: Advocacy groups, such as ABLE NH, fear that restricting DEI initiatives could inadvertently impact disability services and limit equal access for students with disabilities. - Violates Free Speech and Inclusion: The bill is viewed as a "book ban" and a restriction on diverse viewpoints, attacking the ability of schools to foster inclusive environments. - Financial and Administrative Burdens: The bill requires extensive reviews of contracts by school districts and state agencies, imposing heavy, unfunded administrative burdens on local public entities. - Potential Loss of Funding: Schools that fail to comply with the, sometimes unclear, restrictions face the immediate loss of all state public funding. Fiscal reasons to oppose such legislation include: - Increased Local Property Taxes: By redefining "adequacy" and reducing state-level funding obligations, the bill may force local municipalities to raise property taxes to maintain school budgets. - Shifting Burden to Taxpayers: It may facilitate a, "retreat from its funding role" by the state, forcing communities with lower property values to bear a higher tax rate to fund schools. - Ignoring Judicial Findings: The proposal has been characterized as an attempt to circumvent court rulings, such as the ConVal decision, which identified that the state is underfunding public education. - Budgetary Instability: By altering the definition of state aid, it may make local school funding less predictable, threatening the ability of districts to plan for future expenses. The bill is generally seen as a way to avoid increasing the state's financial contribution to education, while overall shifting the financial burden back onto taxpayers.

See testimony from hb1217.

Just stay OUT OF THE BATHROOMS. Trans people are NOT the danger. Why are there so many bills wasting your time about this???

Dear members of the House Judiciary, I writing to oppose HB1442. This bill seeks to restrict access to public spaces based on biological sex, a policy that is discriminatory, unenforceable, and creates privacy and safety concerns for everyone. It invites scrutiny of people’s bodies and identities, especially women, rather than solving any real public safety issue. As a parent and family member to transgender individuals, this issue is deeply personal. Granite Staters deserve leadership that are focused on real issues like affordability and building strong communities, rather than constant legislation that seeks to invalidate and marginalize a vulnerable minority population. I urge you to vote no on HB1442. Thank you for your consideration. Theresa Vaillancourt Goffstown, NH

I oppose HB1442 because it is inherently discriminatory against transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals and intersex individuals. This bill claims to be for the protection of women and girls, but is actual creating more danger of unlawful discrimination and potentials threats of assault. It has also been found that cisgender people especially cis women face increased harassment and violence in instances of bathroom bans if they do not conform to traditional standards of femininity. This bill is overly specific in its mention of the SRY gene and ignores multiple disorders including Swyer Syndrome and 46,XX testicular disorder of sex development. It also misrepresents chimerism as many individuals with this karotype are ovotesticular, meaning they possess both ovarian and testicular tissue. One, I don't see how this bill is logically possible to enforce and if we are going to write something into law it should at minimum be scientifically accurate. As a therapist I have seen the effects of individuals experiencing discrimination and the benefits of being in a supportive environment. Please do not support a bill that is discriminatory, unnecessary, and dangerous to the safety of many youth and adults in NH

It's disgusting how the term "gender ideology" gets thrown around so much as right-wing propaganda when bills like this represent *actual real-life forced gender ideology* that aims to be enforced by *criminal charges*. Let people live. Please fight against this bill and all others like it that threaten people's freedom and safety, this state is supposed to be "live free or die" remember?

As a survivor of bullying, I vehemently oppose HB1442. HB1442 egregiously ignores the hardships that the trans community faces. It ignores that self-harm is alarmingly common for trans youth. And most damning of all, it is a dereliction of the state's duties to protect ALL of its citizens. The trans community demonstrably faces overwhelming discrimination. In renting, in the workplace, in school, and even at home they are targets of hate and abuse. For many, public spaces are the ONLY safety they can obtain, and this bill would strip them of even that. This bill also ignores bullying. My whole youth I was told there was no tolerance for bullying in school, which was a provable lie as I can attest. This bill wouldn't even afford the illusion that the state cares enough about the vulnerable to do the bare minimum to provide their safety. This discussion isn't about the validity of the trans community's identities. That has already been settled. When the first slur was tossed, the first law against them written, the first discussion about their place in society we collectively agreed, regardless of how we felt about them, that they were a people. And with that personhood comes an OBLIGATION to protect them as any other minority group within society would be. HB1442 suggests that the end of that discussion is to isolate them further, to police their mere existence, and to treat trans identity as a problem the state must correct rather than a lived experience. To pass this bill would be to fail at every level of statehood. To deny freedom, dignity, the pursuit of happiness, and even basic humanity only to gain nothing but harsher policing in return. I oppose HB1442 and strongly recommend this committee vote ITL

I can't say anything nice about the sponsors of this bill.

Obsessed with bathrooms much? Given there is not one documented incident of bathroom malfeasance, this is just culture war baloney.

I am in opposition to HB 1442 as this bill would force transgender students and public employees to use facilities that don't match their gender identity, subjecting them to harassment, humiliation, and genuine safety risks. Research consistently shows that transgender youth already face disproportionate rates of bullying and mental health crises and legislation like this makes schools less safe, not more. Redefining "gender identity" in statute to strip it of meaningful protection is not a policy solution. Rather, it is legal jargon for targeted harm. I ask the committee to protect all New Hampshire students and workers by voting Inexpedient to Legislate.

Please stop putting up legislation that is attacking the Trans community. There are many more significant issues and problems that you are charged with addressing as an elected official. This is not what state government should be focused on.

Please OPPOSE HB1442. Like the other bills considered the morning of Feb 20, this bill further alienates and marginalizes transgender people. It's not the NH way to demonstrate this sort of hate. It's very disappointing and hurtful. It's also discriminatory, regardless of what the bill says. Gender is much more expansive than what this bill states. It also clearly aims to strip protected statuses. Please vote ITL.

Really? Five separate bills today all with the aim of discrimination. This one wants to pretend that it isn't for discrimination, but there is no other conceivable reason for trying to push through a bill like this. Especially, when the governor has vetoed similar bills both last year and this year. While there may be much I disagree with Governor Ayotte about, we can agree that everyone deserves the quiet dignity of being able to use the bathroom of their choice without fear of harassment or assault. Is this the Live Free Or Die state? I could've sworn that was the state motto. I was born and raised in this state. i have never lived anywhere else. I've always felt as though I could truly be myself here and I don't intend to let that change. These bills are not genuinely, at their hearts, about keeping public or private spaces safe. They are about fear. I understand that it can be hard to understand a community that you're not a part of and don't necessarily have a connection to. But that fear doesn't absolve you from attempting to legislate a minority population out of existence. And such attempts will not be successful. Gay, queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people will continue to exist; beyond what these pieces of legislation attempt to tell us about our existence. Those who want to go into bathrooms that they don't belong in to harass or assault someone isn't going to let something like being the wrong gender stop them if that's what they really want to do.

This is another discriminatory bill that demonized trans people and does nothing to protect women. Additionally, it misrepresents the range of intersex conditions.

I am testifying today as a concerned member of the public. I do not identify with either party and I am a cisgender woman. I have never felt otherwise. However, I find it deeply concerning that there are so many representatives in the House, mostly Republican, that are so concerned with other people's private part and children's private parts that they are trying to legislate them. There has been undeniable evidence that there are many pedophiles within our government and that should take a huge precedence. Continuing to talk about and police other people's literal PRIVATE parts is insane. This committee is hearing not one, not two but FOUR almost identical bills today. That is absurd and further concerning about pedophiles being here in New Hampshire. The United States is in crisis the NH house thinks that thinking about and legislating what's in people's pants is the most important thing to spend time with four bills for two hours and almost identical. For the Live Free or Die state, these representatives are more than happy to infringe on people's rights instead of addressing the very real and pressing issues for not only New Hampshire but the country. This is shameful . House Bills 1217, 1299, 1442 and 1447 are harmful and seek nothing more than to inflict harm on people, specifically women, if They're not deemed up to some standard. Be honest about what the panic really is. It's not because you're afraid of transgender people, You're afraid of predatory men. Like women have been all our lives. Policing people's bodies cannot lead to anything but assault and harassment on specifically women. With full grown MEN thinking it's their place to acceptably go into WOMEN'S spaces to police people. Causing harm and trauma because how do you prove your sex? People will be forced to pull their pants down and that is horrific. You've also targeting children. The whole world has just seen how sexual assault is built into America and this will only cause more harassment, bullying and assault. These bll are just adult bullying. Do better. Focus on the things that are actually killing democracy in real time. Thank you.

I strongly oppose this bill. As I testified in similar bills, It is especially vital that correctional facilities and treatment centers be required to respect the sexual and gender identities of those in their care. It is wrong to discriminate against people because of who they are. A person’s gender is an important part of who they are. Discrimination against people whose gender identity is different from ours is wrong. It’s especially wrong when it involves people who aren’t able to leave an institution. Public schools, jails and prisons, and treatment centers are all examples of these sorts of institutions. If we require a person to be somewhere, we have to acknowledge their identity, including gender, while they’re there.