In December 2013, Hobby Lobby installed a unisex bathroom at the store, allowing employees and customers alike to use either the bathroom corresponding to their assigned sex at birth or the unisex bathroom, while Sommerville was only allowed to use the unisex bathroom. Over the course of the legal fight, Hobby Lobby changed its precondition for Sommerville’s use of the women’s restroom, arguing that Sommerville should undergo gender confirmation surgery and provide documentation, and then requiring her to submit a birth certificate reflecting her sex as female. The stress also made Sommerville subject to bursts of crying, headaches, and nightmares about bathrooms, being approached by men, and being physically assaulted and laughed at by them on a regular basis. Her distress over having to use the men’s restroom led her to avoid liquid intake, resulting in dehydration. Sommerville filed complaints with the state’s Human Rights Commission, alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
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