Man ‘threatened to kill’ a trans woman for using the women’s locker room in Planet Fitness
A view of Planet Fitness in the Columbia Mall on July 24, 2017 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. (DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
A man ‘threatened to kill’ a trans woman for using the women’s locker room at a Planet Fitness gym, so she got injunction against him, court documents show.
At the gym in New Hampshire, US, Marc Bernier repeatedly made threats towards a trans gym patron earlier this year.
As a result, the Hillsborough County Superior Court-Southern District slapped an order on Bernier that enjoined him from contacting and coming within 250 feet of the victim as well as entering the fitness facility.
Man ordered to pay hefty fines and never enter Planet Fitness again after anti-trans incident.
Attorney general Gordon MacDonald announced on November 4 that Bernier had violated the state’s Civil Rights Acts.
This was “upon his belief that she should not have used the women’s locker room because [of] her gender and Mr Bernier’s perception of her gender,” he wrote in a statement.
People exercise at Planet Fitness with the sign ‘Judgement Free Zone’ on the wall. IDON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials added that after he learned she is trans, he “threatened to kill her” at the Planet Fitness located at 18 Northwest Boulevard in Nashua.
The injunction will last for one year, documents added.
Moreover, MacDonald’s office explained that Bernier is required to “pay a $3,000 civil penalty with all but $500 suspended for one year with the condition that he comply with the terms of the injunction”.
PinkNews has contacted Planet Fitness for comment.
New Hampshire is one of the most pro-LGBT US states.
New Hampshire has seen incredible advances in the rights of its LGBT+ residents in the last few decades. The state is regarded as one of the most queer-friendly patches of the country, according to polls.
Earlier this year, New Hampshire became the 13th state to add a gender-neutral option to drivers licenses.
People embrace for a photo while attending Nashua Pride. (Erin Clark for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The passing of bill HB 669 will mean that from 2020, non-binary New Hampshire residents will be able to have driving licenses and other state ID documents that reflect their gender identity.
Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, said: “This victory is life-changing for the many Granite Staters who identify as non-binary, and is another step toward decreasing stigmatisation, promoting equality, and ensuring that state identification documents are accurate and affirming.”
