Florida further tightened one of its anti-transgender laws on Wednesday, with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a bill that will require state universities to fire any employee that twice uses a bathroom that’s different from the gender they were assigned at birth. The new legislation also extends bathroom restrictions to college students who live on campus—a change that threatens to upend the privacy and comfort of transgender students within their own residence halls. What punishment students might face is not clear, with the new law asking colleges to outline “disciplinary procedures” for transgender students who break the bathroom rule at least twice. DeSantis has regularly used his executive power to attack transgender Floridians, using state agencies to cut off what is referred to as “gender-affirming” care. The timing of the latest bill signing comes mere hours before DeSantis, who’s campaign has been sputtering all summer, is slated to be center-stage at the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee.
