Utah State Auditor John Dougall says he never agreed to be a “bathroom monitor” after public criticism of the Utah trans bathroom snitch line. Utah News Dispatch reports.
He complained about getting over 10,000 fake submissions to the snitch line, and a few hundred of them seemed believable enough to require further review.
Dougall stated, “Most of them are easy to identify as fake complaints. There are a few hundred that seem more legitimate, but the facts don't add up or they use someone's name, like mine, as a contact, and those are not real.”
The joke responses included references to characters from a movie. Bee MovieAdditionally, there were pictures of animal genitalia, false reports about anti-trans government officials, and various memes, including one from a reporter at 404 Media.
Birkeland mentioned, “It’s not surprising that activists are taking the time to send false reports. But that doesn’t change the importance of the legislation and the protection it offers women in Utah.”
The snitch line was created after the passing of a bill known as “Sex-Based Designations for Privacy, Anti-Bullying, and Women’s Opportunities,” which prohibits transgender individuals from using changing rooms and restrooms in government facilities such as public schools. H.B. 257This bill imposes significant fines of up to $10,000 per day for non-compliance.
People caught violating the bill may face police involvement.
H.B. 257 requires a government office to monitor any breaches of this law, resulting in the Office of the State Auditor being tasked with overseeing it.
State Rep. Kera Birkeland, a co-sponsor of the bill, explained, “Reviewing governmental entities and complaints against them falls under the state auditor’s office.”
Dougall is unhappy about the unexpected responsibility thrust upon his office, as they were not consulted prior to the bill being passed.
He stated, “No auditor ever anticipates becoming a bathroom monitor. Unfortunately, Rep. Birkeland and other lawmakers did not consult with this office about the new obligation imposed by this bill.”
Dougall requests that individuals who disapprove of the bill direct their frustration towards lawmakers and not his office or its employees.
“Like many in the public, we learned about our role under this bill shortly before it was hastily passed.”
Similar bombardment has been experienced by other snitch lines. Earlier this year, an Indiana line faced a flood of reports shortly after its announcement. similarly, an older line in Virginia encountered the same outcome. Erin Reed, a journalist, commented on these snitch lines to the Associated Press, “Transgender individuals may be reported by these forms if they use certain bathrooms, so the community is taking on a protective role.” “If there are 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 form responses entered, it will be more difficult for the auditor’s office to go through each one and identify the single genuine trans person who was discovered using a bathroom.”
People are overloading the state’s form for reporting trans people using the bathroom with reports related to Bee Movie and Republicans.
“If there are 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 form responses that are entered in, it’s going to be much harder for the auditor’s office to sift through every one of them and find the one legitimate trans person who was caught using a bathroom.”
