GOP lawmaker wants to restrict trans people’s bathroom use in KY government buildings
A Kentucky Republican lawmaker wants to ban people from using bathrooms in public buildings that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth.
Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, on Tuesday filed House Bill 867, which prohibits individuals from entering a “multi-occupancy private space designated for the opposite biological sex” in state and local government-owned buildings unless it meets one of the exceptions listed in the bill.
Wesley promised to file the bill last year following an incident near the end of the 2025 General Assembly in which he summoned the police on a drag queen who is transgender for using a women’s restroom in the state Capitol.
Opponents of the bill say it’s yet another attack on transgender Kentuckians, who have been the subject of several laws enacted by the Republican supermajority in recent years. Wesley and his supporters say it’s about safeguarding women.
The bill’s language defines “biological sex” as “the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined by a person’s chromosomes and is identified at birth by a person’s anatomy.”
Exceptions in the bill include if the person is a child who is 12 years old or younger, an elderly person, a person with a disability or for law enforcement purposes and medical assistance.
Anyone who violates this section of the bill would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which can be punishable by up to a year in jail and $500 fine.
Wesley said in a Wednesday press release he filed the bill to protect women and girls in private spaces, where he believes they are most vulnerable.
“This bill simply restores clarity, upholds biological reality, and ensures that our public buildings reflect the values of faith, family, and respect that define the commonwealth,” Wesley said.
During the 2025 confrontation, Wesley summoned police on Carma Bell Marshall, a drag queen who is transgender, for using a women’s restroom on the Capitol’s first floor.
Marshall was there to address LGBTQ advocates and trans allies to celebrate “trans joy” and push back against a bill that blocked transgender adults on Medicaid from accessing gender-affirming health care.
While other Republicans praised Wesley and thanked him for “keeping girls and women safe” as the interaction circulated on social media, a Democratic state senator took issue. Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, confronted Wesley on the House floor, exchange words and touched Wesley’s shoulder, which he characterized as a “slap.”
While Berg’s allies called it a “firm pat,” House leadership permanently banned Berg from the chamber’s floor. Berg, whose transgender son died by suicide in 2022, said at the time she apologized to Wesley for touching him.
When asked if this bill was a response to the 2025 incident, Wesley said in a Wednesday statement to the Herald-Leader “we’ve protected women’s sports, now we’re looking to protect private spaces.”
“Those actions, the steps taken by a man to enter a women’s restroom when school children were present, illustrated the need for a law protecting these spaces,” he said.
Wesley is not seeking reelection for his House seat and is instead running a primary challenge against incumbent Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, to represent Senate District 30.
HB 867 isn’t Wesley’s first bill addressing what has become known as the “culture wars” in Frankfort. In 2023, Wesley was the primary sponsor of a bill banning transgender students from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. Portions of that bill were included in Senate Bill 150, which later became law.
HB 867 would require public buildings to have “sex-segregated” multi-occupancy spaces, which includes locker rooms, changing rooms or shower rooms. It also establishes anti-retaliation protections and prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who report a violation of this bill to law enforcement.
Angela Cooper, communications director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a statement “there is no reason for the government to become involved in the room people choose to pee in.”
“There is no body of evidence to suggest laws like this do anything other than expose an already marginalized population to further opportunities for mistreatment,” Cooper said. “The people of Kentucky deserve better.”
Kentucky Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman said in an interview the bill is a “solution in search of a problem,” and Wesley isn’t focusing on issues that matter to Kentucky families.
“This is, once again, a ploy to score some cheap political points by once again placing a target on transgender Kentuckians,” Hartman said.
