Kavanagh kills 'bathroom bill'

June 05, 2013

An Arizona bill mandating transgender people use bathrooms designated for their birth sex is dead — for now.

Congressman John Kavanagh says the proposed measure could be later revived. The Republican representative decided to drop the so-called bathroom bill saying there are concerns in his caucus about some of his proposal’s definitions. But Kavanagh left the door open to revisit the bill in future legislative sessions.

Kavanagh caused a national uproar in March when he proposed the bathroom privacy language. The original bill would have made it a crime for a transgender person to use a bathroom not meant for his or her birth sex.

After an outcry from advocacy groups, Kavanagh changed the measure to instead shield businesses from civil or criminal liability if they decide to ban people from restrooms that don’t match their birth sex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.