Judge Blocks Transgender Bathroom Sign Law In Tennessee

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday, stalling the implementation of a Tennessee law regulating transgender bathrooms.

The law signed by Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee stipulates, among other things, that bold, uppercase letter signage must be posted outside multi-person bathrooms where transgender individuals are allowed to use the bathroom based on their gender identity and not biological sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the law on behalf of two Tennessee business owners in late June, seeking to prevent the rule from going into effect on July 1.

Middle District of Tennessee Judge Aleta A. Trauger ruled in favor of the ACLU, granting a temporary injunction against the law in her Friday ruling. (RELATED: Supreme Court Does Not Reverse Transgender Student Bathroom Decision)

BREAKING: A federal court has blocked Tennessee’s anti-trans restroom law from going into effect.

Our clients, two Tennessee business owners with trans-inclusive restroom practices, challenged the law that would have forced them to post a government-prescribed warning sign.

— ACLU (@ACLU) July 9, 2021

“The plaintiffs have presented evidence that they have strived to be welcoming spaces for communities that include transgender individuals and that the signage required by the Act would disrupt the welcoming environments that they wish to provide,” Trauger wrote in the ruling. “That harm would be real, and it is not a harm that could simply be remedied by some award at the end of litigation.”

Kye Sayers, owner of Sanctuary Performing Arts who challenged the new law with the help of the ACLU, commended the court for recognizing “that forcing businesses to display a sign that hurts transgender and intersex people is unconstitutional,” NBC News reported.