COLUMBIA, Mo. — When a transgender woman used the women’s locker room at a gym in a suburban St. Louis area, there was a protest, a plan for a boycott, and calls for an investigation by the state’s Republican attorney general, who quickly did what was asked of him.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the woman joined the gym on Sunday.
The newspaper said that by Friday morning, a Republican state politician had held a news conference outside the gym, where protesters had gathered to say bad things about the fitness center.
“A lot of people have called me,” Rep. Justin Sparks told The Associated Press on Friday. The man who held the news conference said that he did not organize the protests. Sparks is a representative for a House district that is close to the gym.
Natalie Bushaw, a spokeswoman for Life Time, said that the woman showed staff a copy of her driver’s license, which showed that she was a woman.
AP asked the gym member for a comment on Facebook on Friday, but they did not respond right away. Her story was told to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by a woman who said she was a man and didn’t fit in the sauna on Monday.
“The Missouri Human Rights Act does not allow sex-based discrimination,” Bushaw said in a statement. “So, the member should use the women’s locker room at Life Time.”
Police in Ellisville Capt. Andy Vaughn said that the police got a report of suspected sexual activity at the gym on Friday, and that the matter is being looked into. There are no charges yet.
Also on Friday, Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he is looking into the gym and sent Life Time a letter saying that its rules “enable potentially criminal behavior.”
Bailey wrote, “As Attorney General, I will vigorously defend and enforce Missouri’s laws and rules.” “You could be sued in both criminal and civil court.”
Missouri does not have a rule that says transgender people can’t use public restrooms, and the attorney general of the state doesn’t have much power to bring criminal charges. Most of the time, that is up to the local officials.
Bailey used a 2015 decision by a Missouri appeals court against a man who was found guilty of minor trespassing in a gas station bathroom for women.
In that case, the man locked himself in a gas station bathroom for women and smoked for several hours. He didn’t say he was a woman or transgender, but when staff asked him to stop smoking, he tried to hide his voice.
When the cops showed up, they asked the man why he was in the women’s bathroom.
The decision says that the appellant replied that he had to go to the bathroom “really bad.” He had lotion and a lewd magazine on him.
Ellisville police said they are not looking into the possible trespassing because the private gym let the member use the women’s shower room. It’s not clear if Missouri law can be used against a property owner who lets someone trespass on their land.
Tuesday, people will decide whether to re-elect Bailey, who was chosen by Gov. Mike Parson, or choose Will Scharf as the Republican candidate. Scharf is one of the lawyers for former President Donald Trump.
In the state where Republicans are in charge, the winner of the primary has a big edge in November’s general election.
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