Jackson-Edney v. Labrador

Six transgender residents of Idaho filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging H.B. 752, a 2026 state law prohibiting them from using sex-designated public restrooms in public buildings consistent with their gender identity. The lawsuit argues H.B. 752 violates their constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and privacy.

The challenge was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Idaho, and Lambda Legal.

About House Bill 752

H.B. 752, signed into law by Idaho Gov. Brad Little earlier this year, makes the first offense a misdemeanor with up to one year in prison, and a second offense a felony with up to five years in prison. It applies to all government-owned buildings and private businesses that are open to the public, such as libraries, rest stops, airports, malls, gas stations, restaurants, entertainment venues, hospitals, and other businesses.

The Idaho Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association opposed H.B. 752, noting there is no “clear or reasonable way” to determine a person’s sex at birth during a field contact without engaging in “invasive and inappropriate” questioning or searches.

Analyses of public safety data have found policies inclusive of transgender people’s access to public accommodations have no impact on rates of harassment or violence, but policies restrictive of their access have increased transgender people’s already heightened risks for harassment and violence. Transgender people are four times as likely as their cisgender counterparts to be victimized by violence.

Nine states and Puerto Rico ban transgender people from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity in government buildings and 12 others have similar laws applying to K-12 public schools. Idaho’s H.B. 752 is the only state law applying to private businesses and – of the three states with criminal penalties attached to their bans – carries the steepest criminal charges in terms of prison sentences for violations.