Tennessee Gov. Lee signed HB1182, requiring businesses to post signs disclosing transgender-inclusive restroom policies

On May 19, 2021, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed HB 1182 into law as Public Chapter 453 of the 112th General Assembly, requiring any public or private entity or business operating a facility open to the general public to post a sign at each public-restroom entrance whenever the facility maintains a policy of allowing use by "either biological sex" — a requirement aimed squarely at businesses with transgender-inclusive restroom policies. Sponsored by state Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro) and passed by the House 62-25, the law took effect July 1, 2021, with noncompliant businesses facing criminal enforcement after a notice period.

The required signage read, in part, that the facility "maintains a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex, regardless of the designation on the restroom." Rudd described the measure as protecting "women and children against sexual predators," while two business owners who challenged it — Fido restaurant's Bob Bernstein in Nashville and the Sanctuary performing-arts center's Kye Sayers in Chattanooga — said it forced them to display a government-authored message stigmatizing the transgender people their businesses welcomed.

Updates

2021-07-09 — Federal judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law [3]

U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger (Middle District of Tennessee) granted a preliminary injunction sought by the ACLU of Tennessee on behalf of Bernstein and Sayers, blocking enforcement of the signage requirement while their First Amendment compelled-speech challenge proceeded. The court found the plaintiffs had shown the signage requirement was likely to cause irreparable harm to the welcoming environments their businesses provided.

2022-05-17 — Federal judge permanently struck down the law as unconstitutional [4, 5]

Judge Trauger granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and permanently struck down the law, ruling in a 40-page decision that it violated the First Amendment by compelling businesses to display a government-scripted, controversial message. She wrote that the law amounted to "a brazen attempt to single out trans-inclusive establishments and force them to parrot a message" they reasonably believed would sow fear and misunderstanding about transgender Tennesseans.