West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey has just signed a new bill into law to ban men from entering all women-only spaces, such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
Gov. Morrisey, a Republican, signed SB 456 into state law this week.
The new law protects women and girls by barring men from entering women’s spaces.
Under the new law, all males, includinng those who claim to be “transgender women,” will be prohibited from entering female “restrooms, multiple occupancy restrooms or changing rooms, and sleeping quarters for women in facilities where women have been traditionally afforded privacy and safety from acts of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, and violence committed by men.”
The law further defines male and female, noting that their differences are based in biology. The law is scheduled to take effect on June 9, 2025.
The legislation applies to changing rooms, sleeping quarters, and restrooms in public schools, colleges, domestic violence shelters, and correctional facilities.
Prior to the legislation, women and young girls were forced to share intimate spaces with men who claimed to be women.
Adaleia Cross, a high-school athlete from West Virginia who is in ongoing legal battles over policies allowing men into women’s spaces, described her gratitude for the new legislation.
“Because of a policy that allowed a male athlete to use the girls’ locker rooms and restrooms at my school, I was exposed to sexual comments and had no choice but to change in a bathroom stall out of fear of being exposed to males in the locker room,” she revealed.
“I am grateful that Gov. Morrisey and the West Virginia Legislature prioritized passing commonsense privacy protections for girls like me throughout the state,” Cross continued.
“Men and women are biologically different, and men don’t belong in girls’ spaces.
“Denying this truth only harms women and girls.”
Similarly, Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Sara Beth Nolan, who has been fighting for women’s rights, responded to the legislation saying:
“States have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women and girls.”
“Letting men intrude into girls’ spaces where they are most vulnerable—whether in a changing space, sleeping quarters, or the restroom—is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the two sexes,” she warned.
“ADF commends Gov. Morrisey, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, President of the Senate Randy Smith, and Senate Minority Leader Michael Woelfel for their leadership on SB 456.
“This will help protect young girls and women across the state for generations to come,” she declared.
