BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
The Idaho House voted Wednesday to pass legislation defining “male” and "female,” and stating that there are “only two sexes.”
Members voted 54-14, with one marked absent, to send HB 421 to the Senate.
Bill sponsor Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, said the legislation seeks to answer a question of, “are sex-based distinctions in the law appropriate and beneficial or are they harmful instruments of oppression which should be undefined and erased?”
In her bill, Young ties definitions of male and female to past or potential reproductive functions.
“It’s pretty simple, males produce sperm and females produce eggs,” Young said, noting that the bill says this is true if the person has, had or would have had these functions if not for a “developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident.”
She said it would maintain the state's ability to govern sex-separated facilities, such as bathrooms and changing facilities.
Some who debated against it had concerns that other bills that defined sex or dealt with these issues are still being litigated in the courts, such as HB 71, which prohibits gender-affirming health care for minors and is currently being blocked by a federal court from taking effect.
Others said it is harmful in its denial of Idahoans with transgender or gender non-conforming identities.
House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, questioned the sources from which the definitions came from. She highlighted that Young said she worked with the Heritage Foundation and the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF).
Necochea said that the ADF has said that the “homosexual agenda will destroy Christianity and society,” which is on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s webpage that designates ADF as an LGBTQ hate group.
“These are not the neutral sources that ought to be consulted for definitions that we want to put in our statute,” Necochea said. “And the fact is, that this legislation attempts to write a segment of our population out of existence.”
Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, supported the bill, and as the author of HB 71 and an attorney, said he had “every confidence” that the legislation would prevail in courts as it goes through the process.
“They’re just societal tradition of thousands of years: man, woman, father, mother, child,” Skaug said, “It’s just history.”
House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, likened the bill to another piece of legislation Young sponsored that prohibited transgender people from changing their gender on their birth certificates, which federal courts struck down in 2020.
“We’ve already lost this case,” Rubel said. “... We’re definitely going to lose this again if this goes up. So this will cost us money and we will lose. This is really just an unfortunate gesture that makes people in this community feel unwanted and unloved by their government.”
All of the Democrats voted against the bill, as well as Republican Reps. Dan Garner of Clifton, Jack Nelsen of Jerome, and Mark Sauter of Sandpoint.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.