Missouri House advances legislation on gender definitions and sex offender oversight
The Missouri House of Representatives advanced two bills this week aimed at tightening state policies concerning biological sex and sex offender oversight, further protecting women and children from predators and sex offenders.
The first measure, which passed Monday with a 101-48 vote, seeks to codify the legal definitions of “male,” “female,” and “sex.” It restricts access to private spaces, such as restrooms, based on biological sex.
The House also passed a second bill on Tuesday with overwhelming 141-4 support. The legislation updates Missouri’s sex offender registry laws to ensure that individuals convicted of sex crimes in other states are included in the local registry.
State Representative Becky Laubinger (R-Mo.), the bill’s sponsor, highlighted how the legislation provides “vital protection for women.”
“This is about our government facilities forcing people to share those spaces by creating all gender spaces where you don’t have the option in those spaces to go to a single sex space,” Laubinger said.
The measure would cover restrooms, changing areas and sleeping accommodations.
Laubinger noted that the legislation was inspired by a constituent’s account of seeing two men dressed as women exiting a restroom that his young daughter had just walked into.
“This situation highlights a growing lack of clarity that directly affects the safety, privacy and confidence of families, especially the parents of young children,” Laubinger continued.
Supporters maintain that the legislation would deter predators from targeting women in all-gender facilities, citing a recent case at Kansas City International Airport. There, airport employee Teriosi Ludwig was charged with felony invasion of privacy after purportedly recording more than 60 women in an all-gender restroom between mid-January and mid-March.
Laubinger asserted further that the incident was “enabled by an environment that removed clear boundaries.”
However, on the flip side, opponents of the bill argue that the legislation will make women less safe.
“If you can just call the police and accuse someone of using the wrong bathroom, think about the implications of that,” said state Representative Wick Thomas (D-Mo.), the House’s first transgender-identifying member. “All this bill is going to do is it’s going to cost a lot of money to make women less safe. It essentially deputizes people to harass women and girls in bathrooms,” he continued.
Since amendments were added to the bill after the Missouri Senate approved it in March, it must now return to the upper chamber for final approval before it can be passed to Governor Mike Kehoe (R-Mo.).
State Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Mo.) sponsored the latter bill, saying that it’s meant to clear up confusion created by a 2023 Missouri Supreme Court ruling and create consistency in the law for survivors.
“We’re not changing what level of crime is on what level of registry,” Coleman said. “It’s just making sure that the divisions are all behaving uniformly, that victims can know what to expect and that once people are convicted, they know what to expect as well.”
Beyond requiring out-of-state offenders to register in Missouri, the bill also provides a mechanism for individuals to petition for removal from the registry.
This follows a 2018 shift in state law. Previously, Missouri mandated lifelong registration for all sex offenders until the General Assembly implemented a three-tier system, which established specific minimum registration periods based on the severity of the offense.
Having secured passage in both chambers, the bill is now moving through the final procedural steps before being sent to the governor’s desk for approval
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