In early December, Republicans in the State House introduced a transphobic and misogynistic bathroom bill. If HB1442 were to pass, transgender women would be prohibited from entering women’s restrooms in both public and private institutions, making it a trespassing misdemeanor, putting a permanent mark on their record which would make employment and various other aspects of life more difficult for trans women. Make no mistake: This is yet another open attempt to push transgender individuals out of public life entirely.

This bill, the latest in attacks against the transgender community, not only harms gender non-conforming individuals but also cisgender people. There have already been stories from other states that have passed bathroom bills from cis individuals who quote-unquote, “didn’t pass” and were the victim of questioning and harassment by people trying to uphold those laws. While other states have enacted legislation regarding bathrooms, what makes New Hampshire’s proposed bill unique is that it applies to private businesses as well. This is a gross overreach of government power over bodily autonomy in a state that supposedly prides itself on the motto “Live Free Or Die.” Trans people are just trying to live their lives and have the same bodily needs as everyone else. For a state that postures itself to care so much about individual liberties, our lawmakers sure do enjoy enacting authoritarian policies to police people’s bodies.

In addition to the overt transphobia in the proposed legislation, it is also deeply misogynistic, as it only applies to trans women, which also means it perpetuates the erasure of trans men, who constitute roughly half of the trans population. Trans women already face enough discrimination in both public and private life, and this bill only serves to inflict more cruelty and ostracization of the demographic. Feeling unsafe in public bathrooms, and even being barred from entering their preferred restroom, is a primary reason why transgender people suffer from much higher rates of urinary tract infections than the rest of the population, as many individuals would rather hold it in than enter a public restroom. Section 1e of the bill, as well as other proposed bills, also stipulates that prisons be segregated based on assigned gender at birth, but this too will only harm the trans community, as trans women, especially trans women of color, have among the highest rates of being the victims of sexual assault. Being a woman in a men’s prison would needlessly increase that risk.

Time and time again, politicians from both parties have shown their ignorance and bigotry about transgender, non-binary, and intersex people, repeatedly conflating sex and gender, misunderstanding the fluidity of human anatomy, and a flagrant disregard for the history of gender non-conforming individuals. Sex and gender do not refer to the same thing, and both have varying degrees of fluidity. 1.7% of people are intersex, and bills like this completely disregard the differences in sex and chromosomes, even among people supposedly of the “same sex.” Every state representative who votes for HB1442, or any other transphobic legislation, should be voted out of office during the next election.

While HB1442 is certainly the most egregious of the proposed bills, it isn’t the only upcoming piece of legislation targeting the queer community. Some examples include HB1132 which prohibits the display of pride flags in schools; HB1165, which prevents the altering of gender markers on government identification materials; and multiple House and Senate bills restricting trans people in sports, locker rooms, changing rooms, and prisons (HB1299, HB1447, SB459, SB552).

We must resist the passing of these bills with every tool we have: Call and write your representatives, protest, share information and resources, educate people on the harms of anti-trans legislation. Trans solidarity is class solidarity.

Appendix:

HB1132 - This bill prohibits the display of any flag, including pride flags, at any public school other than a select few officially sanctioned flags, as indicated in the bill.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1132/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2315\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1132

HB1165 - This bill will prevent the altering of gender markers on state-issued identification including birth certificates.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1165/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2450\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1165

HB1217 - Title: Permitting classification of individuals based on ‘biological sex’ under certain limited circumstances. No text for this bill is available.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1217/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2710\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1217

HB1299 - This bill permits the public and private classification of individuals based on ‘biological sex’ in multi-user facilities, athletic and sporting competitions, and correctional and treatment facilities. This bill [also] establishes that these forms of separation based on ‘biological sex’ do not qualify as discrimination.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1299/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2833\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1299

HB1345 - This bill adds requirements for the display of flags on school property, restricts the flags which can be flown on school property, and requires schools to designate students as the school’s color guard to manage the display of flags on school property. It also establishes penalties for any violation of the section.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1345/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=3118\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1345

HB1356 - This bill extends the time period to file a claim for violation of the prohibition on medical procedures intended to change a minor’s gender from 2 years to 10 years from the date the minor reaches the age of majority.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1356/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=3064\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1356

HB1376 - This bill exempts child rearing consistent with the child’s ‘biological sex’ from being considered within the definition of abused child and child endangerment, removes child rearing consistent with the child’s biological sex from being a basis for findings relative to family law determinations, including: adoptions, child-placing agency licensing, and best interests of the child determinations. This bill will allow parents to send their children to conversion therapy.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1376/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=3035\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1376

HB1442 - Modifies statutory construction of the term ‘gender identity’, modifies the enforcement of civil rights to provide protections on the basis of gender identity only for certain purposes, requires bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools and municipally owned buildings to be used on the basis of sex, permits owners and operators of places of public accommodation to restrict the use of bathrooms and locker rooms on the basis of sex. This bill will make it a criminal misdemeanor for transfemmes to use women’s restrooms.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1442/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2729\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1442

HB1447 - Defines the term “sex” within statutory construction, requires the state of New Hampshire and all political subdivisions of the state to adopt policies that classify the use of restrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, and sleeping quarters by sex, authorizes private entities to adopt the same policies relative to biological sex, and establishes that all public or private policies adopted pursuant to the section shall not constitute discrimination.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1447/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2754\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1447

HB1564 - This bill removes all references to gender identity from NH statutes, with the exception of RSA 332-M:2, III-a, which is the state ban on gender affirming care for minors. This bill would eliminate gender identity as a protected status in New Hampshire, effectively erasing equal protection for trans, non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1564/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2415\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=HB1564

SB459 - This bill requires school athletics and the associated use of locker rooms be designated based on a participant’s ‘biological sex’ as assigned at birth. The bill also requires that inmates in New Hampshire state prisons be housed separately on the basis of inmates’ ‘biological sex’. This Senate bill will forbid transgender children from participating in school sports, and place trans inmates at increased risk.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/SB459/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2222\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=SB459

SB464 - This bill changes the standard for civil rights enforcement by requiring that prohibited conduct be substantially motivated by hostility toward the victim’s protected characteristics. This bill would make it extremely difficult for victims who’s characteristics are no longer protected to bring forward a case where their civil rights have been violated. See also: HB1564.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/SB464/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2245\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=SB464

SB552 - This bill permits discrimination based on ‘biological sex’ in certain specified areas: bathrooms and similar facilities, sports, and facilities in which individuals may be housed involuntarily.
https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/SB552/2026#
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=2149\&sy=2026\&sortoption=\&txtsessionyear=2026\&txtbillnumber=SB552

Additional resources:

Legislature contact information:
https://legiscan.com/NH/roster

Erin Reed’s article:
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/new-hampshire-bill-would-create-first