A proposal in Tennessee that would require educational institutions that house students overnight to separate bathrooms “by immutable biological sex" is headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee's desk for his approval.
The Republican-dominant Senate easily cleared the legislation on Thursday over the objections of LGBTQ+ activists and the chamber's handful of Democratic members.
The legislation is just the latest effort targeting the transgender community in Tennessee, where Republican lawmakers have over the years repeatedly enacted bills aimed at the LGBTQ+ community as the party pursues such legislation nationwide.
Earlier this year, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed off on a transgender restriction bill explicitly aimed at university housing. According to the law, transgender college students would be prohibited from living in dorms consistent with their gender identity.
“It just seems we spend a very long time on a very small part of our population,” said Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Democrat from Nashville.
The governor has not publicly commented on the bill but has yet to object to contentious anti-LGBTQ+ efforts and is expected to sign it. If so, the legislation would take effect immediately.
GOP Rep. Gino Bulso, who sponsored the bill in the similarly Republican-controlled House, said he agreed to file the legislation after being contacted by constituents who said their daughter was asked to room with a transgender female student while at a summer program at a private university. According to Bulso, the parents said no but were later upset when they learned the student would share bathrooms and showers with their daughter.
“We want to protect girls, protect young ladies and their privacy and security in spaces like restrooms and shower facilities," Bulso said earlier this year during a committee hearing.
Currently, Tennessee law already bans transgender students and staff from using school bathrooms or locker rooms that match their gender identities. For those transgender students or employees who want more privacy than afforded by a bathroom designated for their sex at birth, the law says schools must try to offer a bathroom or changing facility that is single-occupancy. A federal judge dismissed a legal challenge to the statute late last year.
Last year, Tennessee Republicans passed a measure that would allow LGBTQ+ foster children to be placed with families that hold anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs. Lawmakers also created penalties for adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Republicans have banned gender-affirming care for most minors and attempted to limit events where drag performers may appear.
FILE - The Tennessee State Capitol is seen, Feb. 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
BANGKOK (AP) — A high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar midday on Friday, police said, and possible casualties are not yet known.
A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the multi-story building with a crane on top collapsing into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran.
Police told The Associated Press they were responding to the scene near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak Market, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.
The midday temblor was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock, and people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more.
“All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok's many malls shopping for camera equipment.
“I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.”
Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park — away from the tall buildings all around.
“I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,” he said. “Lots of chaos.”
The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), with an epicenter in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.
In Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media.
While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.
In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were also damaged.
Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.
In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.
In Bangkok, alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1:30 p.m., and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
Water from high-rise rooftop pools sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings as the long-lasting earthquake rattled the city.
“I have experienced earthquakes twice before in Myanmar, but that was only one second, one big bang, but here it went on for at least, I’d say, a minute,” said Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs, a Hungarian resident of Bangkok, who had just finished eating at a restaurant when the quake hit.
“My husband was in a high-rise, I think that’s even worse.”
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.
Adam Schreck, Haruka Naga, Jerry Harmer and Penny Wong contributed to this report.
Rescuers carry an injured from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Damaged pagodas are seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers carry an injured from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
People seek shelter in Bangkok's Benjasiri Park after an earthquake shook nearby high-rises on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)
Workers at the Ikea in a nearby high-rise shopping mall and others seek shelter in Bangkok's Benjasiri Park after an earthquake on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)
People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chutima Lalit)
Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Children walk near a damaged monastery compound after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A damaged monastery is seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Damaged pagodas are seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
A Buddhist monk walks near a damaged building at a monastery compound after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Damaged pagodas are seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
Residents of a high-rise condo building wait outside after an earthquake in Bangkok, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Christie Hampton)
People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chutima Lalit)
People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chutima Lalit)
People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chutima Lalit)
