Story perspectives

Judge Halts Idaho Trans Restroom Ban, Appeal Looms

6/17/2026

Summary

Brailsford Blocks Ban

Judge Amanda K. Brailsford issued injunction on June 16, 2026 against Idaho’s HB 752 bathroom ban.
HB 752 criminalizes transgender restroom use as a misdemeanor punishable by one-year jail and as a felony punishable by five years, with the injunction allowing use when no single-user restroom is reasonably available on a floor.
The court found the law vague for terms like “reasonably available” and “dire need,” prompting Attorney General Raúl Labrador to appeal.

Summary

Court Blocks Law

The court issued an injunction blocking Idaho’s vague law, protecting constitutional guarantees against arbitrary police judgments.
Lambda Legal counsel Kell Olson said the ruling lets transgender Idahoans use public restrooms without fear of arrest.
ACLU of Idaho legal director Paul Carlos Southwick said the decision eases trans residents’ anxiety about daily disruptions.
Attorneys warned the injunction gives immediate relief but the broader fight to overturn the law persists.

Summary

Trans Residents Sue

Idaho’s HB 752 bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in venues such as libraries, malls, hospitals, and other public businesses.
Six transgender Idaho residents filed a federal lawsuit in April 2026 alleging that the ban violates their due-process, equal-protection, and privacy rights.
Their legal team includes Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Munger, Tolles & Olson, and the Alturas Law Group, forming a broad coalition to contest the law.

History

Historical Context

In March 2016 North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed House Bill 2, forcing restroom use based on birth-certificate sex and prompting a DOJ civil-rights suit and an estimated $400 million hit to the state’s economy. A decade later, in March 2026 Idaho lawmakers approved a comparable misdemeanor-only bathroom bill, immediately challenged by Lambda Legal and the ACLU, echoing the earlier backlash and raising fears of similar economic and legal pressures.

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Brailsford Blocks Ban

Judge Amanda K. Brailsford issued injunction on June 16, 2026 against Idaho’s HB 752 bathroom ban.
HB 752 criminalizes transgender restroom use as a misdemeanor punishable by one-year jail and as a felony punishable by five years, with the injunction allowing use when no single-user restroom is reasonably available on a floor.
The court found the law vague for terms like “reasonably available” and “dire need,” prompting Attorney General Raúl Labrador to appeal.

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