Will New Hampshire’s ‘bathroom bill’ get vetoed for a fourth time? And then a fifth time?

The New Hampshire Legislature has sent a bill to Gov. Kelly Ayotte for final approval that would allow transgender people to be excluded from restrooms, locker rooms, sports teams, and other settings corresponding with their gender identity — a carbon copy of legislation Ayotte has already vetoed twice and her predecessor, former Gov. Chris Sununu, vetoed as well.

Senate Bill 552 seeks to create exceptions to the state’s 2018 Law Against Discrimination, which legally protects residents from being discriminated against on the basis of characteristics like race, religion, disability, and “gender identity.” SB 552 wouldn’t necessarily outlaw transgender women and men from entering women’s and men’s restrooms, but it would allow the owners of those restrooms to forbid them from entering. Similarly, it would allow schools to create policies that exclude transgender people from participating on the sports team that fits their gender identity, and it would allow gyms to exclude transgender people from the locker rooms associated with their gender identity. Lastly, it would allow prisons to place transgender people in jails meant for their sex at birth rather than their gender identity.