CONCORD, NH — On the heels of the Supreme Court ruling that Title IX reflects biological sex and not gender identity, New Hampshire leaders have missed an opportunity to enact Independent Women’s Stand With Women legislation that would further safeguard sex-based rights and privacy across the state.
SB 552 and HB 1442 clarify that it’s not discrimination to separate the sexes in certain circumstances like sports, locker rooms, and correctional or treatment settings, yet disappointingly, both bills were vetoed by Governor Kelly Ayotte.
Importantly, New Hampshire’s SB 552 and HB 1442 simply reaffirmed a common-sense principle: women and girls should not be forced to give up their privacy to men in female spaces. The bills would have provided clear, enforceable protections for single-sex facilities while respecting the rights of all New Hampshire residents.
Bronwyn Sims, Independent Women’s Network Southern New Hampshire Chapter Leader & Leading Member, said, “A veto may delay progress, but it won’t change our resolve. New Hampshire women and girls deserve privacy, safety, and equal opportunity, and we’ll keep fighting until those protections become law.”
Beth Parlato, senior legal counsel for Independent Women’s Law Center, said, “These pieces of legislation recognized an important legal and biological reality: distinctions based on sex are necessary to protect privacy, safety, and equal opportunities for women and girls. The legislation would have provided much needed clarity while reaffirming that protecting women’s spaces is not discrimination.”
STAND WITH WOMEN MODEL LEGISLATION
Independent Women has spearheaded a national movement to restore truth to language and protect single-sex spaces and opportunities. SB 552 and HB 1442 reflect years of advocacy to help ensure laws are rooted in reality, not ideology, and that women and girls are not forced to sacrifice privacy, safety, or equal opportunity in spaces where those protections matter most.
Independent Women’s sex-definition model has been adopted in 18 states across the country—North Carolina, Kansas, Tennessee, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Georgia, and Texas. These laws now positively affect the lives of more than 50 million women and girls.
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