New Yorkers are now guaranteed the right to visit the restroom that matches their gender identity in all city buildings, after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order Monday. The new rule, which is now in effect, covers all bathrooms or locker rooms in city-government buildings, parks, and some museums. It doesn’t apply to the city’s public schools, which are already supposed to have such policies in place, reports CBS 2. “Access to bathrooms and other single-sex facilities is a fundamental human right that should not be restricted or denied to any individual,” the mayor said when he signed the new requirements. “Every New Yorker should feel safe in our city — and this starts with our city’s buildings.”
Other cities and states have been debating this issue; in South Dakota last week, the state legislature was unable to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have forced transgender students to go to the restroom that corresponded with their gender at birth.
