HUFFPOST
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed one of the most draconian bathroom bills in the country into law on Wednesday, subjecting anyone in the state over the age of 18 to criminal trespassing charges if they don’t use the public bathroom that matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
The new law, which DeSantis signed just weeks before he is widely expected to announce his 2024 presidential run, applies to government buildings, schools, colleges and detention centers. A previous draft had included private businesses such as restaurants and gas stations.
“This is heavy-handed government interference into the most private aspect of our lives,” Kara Gross, the legislative director and senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, told HuffPost.
The new law says someone can be charged if they don’t leave a bathroom when another person asks them to, meaning it allows anyone to police who belongs in which bathroom — a dangerous prospect in a country beset by gun violence and vigilantism.
Advocates say the law is written in a confusing and vague way, and they are concerned about how it will be enforced. It’s unclear what steps need to be taken in order to charge someone with criminal trespassing after they are asked to depart a bathroom. “There’s no good way to enforce the law without invading everyone’s privacy,” Gross said…
