Utah’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Snitch Line Got 12,000 Tips. None Could Be Verified.

This blog originally appeared at THEM.

Utah’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Snitch Line Got 12,000 Tips. None Could Be Verified

Six Weeks After Launch, Utah’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Tip Line Received 12,000 Reports, None Verified

Six weeks after Utah Republicans introduced a public “snitch form” to report transgender individuals using bathrooms in government facilities, the state auditor’s office has received over 12,000 reports—none of which could be verified.

The tip line was established following the passage of HB 257, sponsored by second-term GOP Rep. Kera Birkeland. The law mandates that all government bathrooms and locker rooms be designated based on a person’s assigned sex at birth. It also requires government institutions to create their own “privacy compliance plan” in accordance with the law. Violations are classified as criminal trespass offenses, a class A misdemeanor in Utah.

However, shortly after the form went live in early May, it was inundated with spam, including numerous memes and at least one picture of bull testicles.

Since its launch, the form has received more than 12,000 submissions, Utah Auditor John Dougall confirmed to the Salt Lake Tribune this week. Just five of those were deemed “plausible,” Dougall said, but his office was “unable to substantiate” any of them. In essence, the tip line has produced no verifiable cases.

The closest Dougall reportedly came to finding a case to pursue was from a report against the state Department of Corrections, which did not come through the online form. According to the Tribune, Dougall’s office received a letter earlier this month alleging that an employee in the administrative offices allowed an individual to use a sex-designated restroom that did not align with their sex. However, Dougall confirmed he was unable to substantiate the complaint.

Dougall also noted that he has instructed state agencies to adopt “privacy compliance plans,” but there has been significant confusion about how to implement these plans. According to a statement from Dougall’s office to the Tribune, “there is a lack of clarity regarding which entity has the duty to adopt a privacy compliance plan in situations when multiple entities either share use or control of facilities for which a plan is required.” Essentially, the overlapping jurisdiction of government facilities complicates the establishment and oversight of these policies.

In summary, Utah Republicans have likely invested hundreds of work hours and significant taxpayer dollars on a tip line that, in a month and a half, has primarily been used for trolling. Utah Auditor John Dougall has been particularly critical of this debacle. He has released multiple videos on social media mocking his new role as a government “bathroom monitor” and criticizing Rep. Kera Birkeland and other legislators for enacting HB 257.

“It seems like this part of the bill was more about show than substance,” remarked John Dougall in a video filmed in a public bathroom and released in mid-May. “But it wouldn’t be the first time the legislature did something like that, would it?”

https://www.them.us/story/utah-anti-trans-bathroom-tipline-none-verified