A federal judge in Idaho heard arguments Friday over whether to halt House Bill 752 before it takes effect July 1, with Chief U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford indicating she would move quickly to issue a ruling on a preliminary injunction request.
The lawsuit was brought by six transgender Idahoans challenging the law, which passed the Legislature this year along party lines with Republican support only. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status and are focused specifically on bathroom access. Their legal challenge does not seek to block restrictions on changing rooms.
HB 752 makes it a criminal offense to “knowingly and willfully” enter a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex. Repeat violations can be charged as a felony carrying up to five years in prison. The American Civil Liberties Union notes that Idaho’s law is notable on two fronts: it extends to private businesses, not just government buildings, and carries the steepest criminal penalties of any of the three states that have enacted bathroom bans with criminal consequences.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Brailsford pressed both sides on practical questions about how enforcement would actually work under the law. Idaho’s new bathroom law is set to take effect July 1, and businesses across the state have been working to understand what compliance and potential liability look like under the statute.
Lambda Legal attorney Kell Olson argued that the law creates immediate danger for transgender Idahoans regardless of what choices they make. “HB 752 does make Idaho less safe for transgender people,” Olson said. “It threatens serious and immediate harm, no matter what trans people do.”
Idaho Solicitor General Michael Zarian pushed back on the framing, arguing the law is not premised on claims about transgender behavior. “The point is not that transgender people are more likely to commit safety violations,” Zarian said. “The point is that men in women’s restrooms are more likely to commit safety violations.”
A 2025 study from the UCLA Williams Institute found no evidence that allowing transgender individuals to use facilities consistent with their gender identity increases harm to other users. The same study found that transgender people themselves report experiencing verbal harassment and physical assault when they are denied access to facilities that match their gender identity.
Idaho has been an active front in broader legal battles over gender-related policies. A 2020 state law banning transgender women and girls from female sports competitions is currently awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. A separate 2023 law restricting bathroom use in public schools took full effect last month, making HB 752’s extension to private businesses a significant escalation of that policy framework.
Judge Brailsford gave no timeline for her ruling beyond saying she would act quickly. If she grants the injunction, enforcement of HB 752 would be paused while the legal challenge proceeds. If she declines, the law goes into effect as scheduled on July 1.
Idaho’s conservative leadership has defended the legislation as a common-sense safety measure. Critics argue the criminal penalty structure, particularly the felony threshold for repeat offenses, goes well beyond what any comparable state has enacted.
The outcome of this case may have ripple effects across Idaho’s business community, which is already navigating uncertainty about how to apply the law in facilities ranging from retail stores to restaurants to gyms. Business owners have been seeking legal guidance on their exposure under the law since it passed earlier this year.
North Idaho Republican Staff