This Central California city may ban transgender women from using public women’s restrooms
Porterville may become the first known city in the Central Valley to ban transgender women from using public restrooms that align with their gender identity.
The Protect Women’s Safe Spaces ordinance, proposed by Porterville Mayor Greg Meister in February, would ban transgender women from using publicly accessible restrooms, locker rooms or similar facilities in the city.
The proposal’s initial version called for fining privately-owned businesses up to $5,000 per violation if they failed to enforce the ordinance.
The all-male council considered the ordinance at its night Tuesday meeting but did not take any action.Rather, the council directed staff to bring the ordinance back to the council with changes at a future meeting. It is unclear when, exactly, the council will reconsider the ordinance.
Meister directed staff to remove enforcement and penalties sections of the ordinance, saying the city didn’t have standing to enforce those policies.
Meister said the council has to “look and be creative with this ordinance” to protect women rights.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times last month, Meister said he came up with the ordinance on his own. He admitted that he didn’t know if any transgender individuals live in the city but wanted to prevent it from becoming an issue locally.
Brian Poth, executive director of The Source LGBT+ Center in Visalia said the proposed restroom ban “would not only harm the transgender community, but all gender non-conforming people.”
The Source LGBT+ Center, a nonprofit organization that provides support and services to LGBTQ+ individuals in the Central Valley, serves 26,000 people annually, of which more than half are Latino or people of color.
Transgender rights have come under attack under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump has signed multiple executive orders declaring that the U.S. government will only recognize a person’s sex assigned at birth, pulling federal funding for transgender minors’ gender affirming health care, and barring transgender people from serving opening in the military.
The Tulare County Stonewall Democrats organized a protest to stand against the ordinance before Tuesday’s city council meeting at the council chambers at City Hall located at 291 N. Main Street.
Critics of the proposed ordinance told the City Council it targets marginalized groups by spreading conspiracy theories and violates state law. Some residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting told the council to focus on real community issued rather than targeting transgender individuals.
Tuesday’s meeting attracted residents from across Tulare County. Dr. Katherine Hall, who lives in the nearby town of Lindsey, and other speakers emphasized the higher risk of violence against transgender individuals compared to cisgender people.
The city council considered the ordinance Tuesday evening without taking any action.
The proposed ordinance in Porterville, a city with about 62,000 people, would ban transgender women from using restrooms, locker rooms or other private facilities in city-owned or city-operated properties including parks, government buildings and recreational facilities.
The city’s ordinance ban also mentions public schools, colleges and universities within the city.
The ordinance also wanted privately owned businesses to ban transgender women from using their facilities unless the business provides single-occupancy, gender-neutral facilities.
Any entity receiving public funding from the City of Porterville would be required to ban transgender women from using their facilities, according to the proposed ordinance.
The proposed ordinance also includes penalties for those who violate it that could include fines of up to $1,000.
The ordinance gives law enforcement or designated city personnel the authority to remove individuals who refuse to comply with facility usage regulations.
The proposed ordinance calls for all public restrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities to post clear signage indicating the designation of spaces as “male” or “female” based on biological sex.
Businesses and institutions would be required to inform employees and patrons of their compliance of the ordinance.
Meister is also sponsoring a “Women’s Rights” proclamation requested by the organization Women of La Gente that says the city “affirms that women’s safety and privacy are fundamental rights particularly in spaces designated for their exclusive use, including restrooms, locker rooms, dressing areas and shelters.
The proclamtion also says the city recognizes “the inherent biological differences between men and woman, acknowledging that fairness in athletics, education and public accomodations must be preserved to ensure women are not placed at a competitive disadvantage or at risk of harm.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 2:32 PM.
