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Visitors to national parks are free to use whichever public restroom they believe matches their gender identity, the Department of Interior says.
“As it relates to recently passed state laws relating to the transgender community, visitors to public lands and water sites are welcome to use restrooms that best align with their gender identity,” an Interior Department spokesperson told The Daily Signal in an email.
But a national policy expert says visitors to national parks should be concerned that others can enter the restroom of their choice regardless of their biological sex.
“It is troubling because national parks have traditionally been family-friendly destinations,” said Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Washington-based Family Research Council, which advocates conservative social values. “Now women and girls will have to worry about sharing a restroom with biological males.”
Public restrooms have become a national political issue in recent months after President Barack Obama’s administration took legal action against North Carolina for a state law that requires people to use public restrooms that correspond with their biological gender.
Then, the administration threatened to withhold federal money from schools if students were not allowed to use the restroom they thought matched their gender identity.
No matter which state a national park is in, federal law and regulations govern activity there.
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