Human trafficking fight advances; trans bathroom bill heard

A proposal aimed at fighting against human trafficking by training hotel employees to spot it is advancing in the Legislature. And the battle over restricting transgender people from certain bathrooms and locker rooms has resumed.

The effort to combat human trafficking is contained in a proposal (LB320) by Sen. Rita Sanders. It aims to give hotels an incentive to train employees on how to identify the practice, in exchange for exemption from liability unless they knowingly assist in trafficking. Sanders talked about what the bill would and would not do.

“Hotels are not being asked to investigate crimes. They are being asked to be aware, to recognize warning signs and to know how to report concerns appropriately,” Sanders said.

Sen. George Dungan agreed with the goal of the bill. But Dungan objected to the exemption from liability it would offer hotel owners if they implemented the training.

“Making sure that individuals see or understand or know the signs of human trafficking, that folks who potentially are being human trafficked know how to get help. That is vital, and we know from statistics and studies that that does help stop the problem. But what we should not be in the business of doing, colleagues, is protecting entities that negligently act in allowing human trafficking to occur in their facilities,” Dungan said.

Dungan proposed an amendment to eliminate the exemption from liability. But Sen. Mike Jacobson objected to that idea.

“We’re trying to bring more awareness to trafficking, trying to get more training in place. And instead of taking the olive branch, we're coming in and saying, ‘No, we're going to beat you into submission, that you will do this, and you will be liable if your employees don't go above and beyond to supplant what the police would be doing,’” Jacobson said.

Senators rejected Dungan’s amendment by a vote of 28-18. Sen. Carolyn Bosn then offered a compromise amendment that said hotels could still be liable if they “fail to act in a reasonable manner.” Senators adopted that on a vote of 38-0, then gave the bill first-round approval on a vote of 44-0.

Wednesday afternoon, the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee held a public hearing on Sen. Kathleen Kauth’s proposal (LB730) to require public schools, colleges and state agencies to restrict bathrooms and locker rooms to people according to their sex at birth.

Kauth urged the committee to support her bill.

“What this committee needs to determine is, does the law still recognize biological sex as a meaningful and legitimate category, or can it be erased in favor of subjective identity claims? Belief does not trump biology. It is impossible to change your sex. Access to female bathroom and locker rooms must be restricted to females,” Kauth said.

Elizabeth Nunnally of the Nebraska Family Alliance called the proposal a matter of common sense.

“Protecting sex-specific spaces is important for safety reasons, but it's also about standing up for truth and preserving opportunities for the next generation of Nebraska women. Our laws and policies should recognize and respect that males and females are biologically different. Respecting these biological differences is essential to ensuring the privacy, dignity and safety of both sexes,” Nunnally said.

And Marion Miner of the Nebraska Catholic Conference said a law is needed.

“Some people do believe they are entitled to force others to treat them as members of the opposite sex -- not just request, but force them to do so, including admission to spaces set aside for privacy… Absent legal requirements, local public authorities are often afraid to do anything to stop this,” Miner said.

Supporters cited instances of men claiming to be trans assaulting women in restrooms and locker rooms. But opposing the bill, Christon MacTaggart of the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, pushed back against that narrative.

“Being trans does not mean you are more likely to commit sexual violence. The research doesn't support that. They're significantly more likely, in fact, to be victims of sexual violence, as nationally, almost half of transgender individuals experience sexual assault during their lifetime,” MacTaggart said.

And Michelle Jud of the Rainbow Parents of Nebraska disputed what supporters said was the motivation for the bill.

“Ultimately, this is not about protecting children and women, as they like to say. It is about erasing trans people from existence. It is about eradicating something that they don't understand and therefore something that they fear,” Jud said.

If the committee does advance the bill, it faces an uncertain future in the full Legislature. Last year, opposition from Sen. Merv Riepe resulted in similar restrictions being dropped from a bill restricting trans student athletes. Riepe was asked Wednesday if he has changed his mind.

“No, I think that it's unenforceable, and there are a lot bigger problems that we have in the state. I've even talked with some young people, my granddaughter and her friends, and she's a senior in high school, she said, ‘Do you know, Papa? We worry more about guns in school than we do about a transgender or an LGBTQ or someone else who might inadvertently or intentionally come into our particular bathrooms,’” Riepe said.