(26 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Frankfort, Kentucky — 7 July 2025
1. Kentucky capitol exterior
2. Door to House of Representatives
3. Setup of Rep. Lisa Willner (D) walking
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) State Rep. Lisa Willner, (D) Kentucky:
“I was elected in 2018 and I was sworn in for the first time in 2019 and I came in with a pretty big wave of newly elected women legislators, which was very exciting, but you could tell right away that this wasn’t a place that was built with us in mind, and so the restroom location was certainly one important reminder of that.”
5. Men’s room door closing
6. Zoom out from women’s restroom
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7. SOUNDBITE (English) State Rep. Lisa Willner, (D) Kentucky:
“So if you’re a male legislator, you have a bathroom that you can use that’s right outside the chamber. If you’re a woman legislator, you have to take a pretty long hike, little curvy, circuitous route to get to the restroom.”
8. Willner showing walk to women’s restroom
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9. SOUNDBITE (English) State Rep. Lisa Willner, (D) Kentucky:
“It can be pretty dicey when you know a vote is about to be taken and you’re in line to use the bathroom. The line is moving slowly, again the restroom we use is also a public facility. Meanwhile the clock is ticking and you got to get back in the chamber and vote.”
10. Willner walking toward camera
11. Feet walking by
12. Willner arriving at women’s restroom
13. Bathroom guide sign
STORYLINE:
For female state lawmakers in Kentucky, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation.
With only two bathroom stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located, female legislators needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote.
None of their male colleagues face the same dilemma. Multiple men’s bathrooms are available.
In a pinch, House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. They even installed speakers to broadcast the chamber’s events to minimize missing anything of importance.
“You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us,” said Rep. Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, reflecting on the photos of former lawmakers, predominantly white, that line her office.
Kentucky’s bathroom disparity is expected to come to an end when a $300 million Capitol renovation is completed, which is currently underway and isn’t expected to be completed until at least 2028. The project is designed to update the 115-year-old building and in the process create more women’s restrooms.
The Bluegrass State is among the last to include bathroom additions in renovations to old statehouses that were built at a time when the presence of female legislators wasn’t a consideration.
In Georgia, expanding bathrooms has also been a top priority for those overseeing a $392 million renovation, said Gerald Pilgrim, chief of staff with state’s Building Authority. There are no female bathrooms on the fourth floor of the Georgia Capitol — which contain the public galleries — but that will change with the remodel, along with adding more bathrooms throughout the building that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Over the years, statehouses have added bathrooms for women and the makeup of state government has changed.
AP video by Dylan Lovan
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