1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

I’m writing today about hb257. I identify as nonbinary but was assigned male at birth and for the most part present in masculine fashion. I use the men’s restroom as that is what I’ve always used and as a masculine presenting person that still seems the most appropriate. However, I do have long hair that goes past my shoulders. On a near daily basis, while I’m washing my hands in a public bathroom, another man will walk through the door, look at me, then walk out assuming they somehow got the wrong bathroom but they’ll check the sign on the door and come back in. If this bill passes, every time that happens I’ll be wondering if that guy or someone he knows is going to call the cops on me. Then I’ll have my privacy violated just to confirm I’m allowed to use the bathroom. I have so many friends who are trans who use bathrooms contrary to their birth certificates. They do so for their own and others safety. People who live their lives as men because they look like men but their birth certificates would say female. You wouldn’t want these people with facial hair and masculine appearance walking into a ladies room, it wouldn’t be appropriate. The same for those living lives as women. They look, sound, and dress as women as that’s how they live thier lives. Sending them into a men’s room because that’s what’s on a birth certificate wouldn’t be safe for anyone. But since clearly protecting LGBTQ+ people because it’s the right thing to do doesn’t seem to be in the interest of the Utah legislature, let’s talk money. Utah and the Salt Lake valley specifically have one of the highest per capita populations of LGBTQ+ people and supporters. If this law passes, I can promise you will lose a LARGE portion of your workforce, aka your tax base. You will begin to see people leaving in droves like they did in Florida. You will see major tech companies pack up shop and leave the state. You will probably see the salt lake airport lose its largest partner in Delta. If this bill passes, the state will lose millions upon millions of dollars. So, if you can’t bring yourself to stop this bill out of compassion for fellow human lives, think of all the money Utah will lose.