El Paso City Council approves gender-neutral signs on certain public bathrooms
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Gender-neutral bathrooms have been a national talking point for many years now. Here in El Paso, City Council unanimously approved a new amendment to local ordinances that will update the sign requirements for single-use public restrooms at city facilities.
This change was previously discussed at council. During public comment, both City Representatives Alexsandra Annello and Cassandra Hernandez vocalized their support for this change. Annello specifically noted the action came about as a way of trying to provide security to gender diverse individuals going out into the community.
Access to non-gendered restrooms have been linked to major mental health concerns in LGBTQ+ groups -- whether they are transgender or gender non-conforming, especially in younger people. The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide and mental health of LGBTQ+ youth, says that in 2022, 91% of transgender and nonbinary youth said they were very worried about being denied access to bathrooms based on their gender presentation.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has reviewed data showing "[b]asic issues like restroom access have a profound effect on transgender youth well-being. For instance, one study showed that transgender students denied access to gender appropriate facilities on their college campuses were 45% more likely to try to take their own lives."
Designated gender-neutral, unisex and/or inclusive restrooms have been growing across the country. Several schools in the Borderland offer inclusive restroom locations, including El Paso Community College, New Mexico State University and some local school campuses. ABC-7 spoke with several experts, and local campuses about why public inclusive restrooms are such a concern.
Under these new rules, businesses with single-toilet and public bathrooms must display a gender-neutral sign. A sample sign was provided in Council documents, and can be seen below.
The change created Chapter 5.19, on signage for single-user restrooms, which requires commercial facilities that are not for private use -- such as a private bathroom reserved for a dentist at a dentist office. City staff said during the meeting today that they would be informing restaurants and businesses of this change through associations and during inspections.
The new section does contain penalties for violating these requirements, making it a Class C misdemeanor. The new amendment will take effect on January 1, 2024.
Avery Martinez covers mental health in the Borderland as part of ABC-7’s Be Mindful initiative. He is also a Report for America corps member. RFA places talented, emerging journalists in newsrooms like ABC-7’s to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
