Press Contact: Johnathan Gooch, [email protected], (512) 922-4040
Austin, TX – Today, the Texas House passed SB8, the latest version of Texas’ trans bathroom ban. The only amendment accepted during the debate raised the civil penalties to $25,000 for the first offense and $125,000 for the second offense. Because the House version was amended, the bill will return to the Texas Senate, where the chamber will have the opportunity to concur with changes or create a bi-cameral conference committee. That is the last step before going to the Governor’s desk.
The first bathroom ban was proposed in 2017, and failed to pass after overwhelming opposition from the business community and Texans of all walks of life. No Texas bathroom ban has ever reached this stage in the process. During this special session, Texans once again showed up to protest the bill; but lawmakers turned their backs on the voters—as they did in their scheme to steal representative democracy by redistricting.
During the regular session, advocates testified in the Senate against the bathroom ban, but the House did not hold a hearing. During the first special session, yet again, the Senate held a hearing, but the House did not. After some House Democrats broke quorum, the Governor called a second special session, and the Senate suspended the rules to push through SB8 on its own terms at a breakneck speed. Last Friday, the House State Affairs committee held a hearing on the ban. Despite threats of violence against trans people, opposition to the ban far outnumbered support.
Statement from Brad Pritchett, Interim CEO of Equality Texas:
“We judge a society by how it treats those at the margins, and we judge people with power by the choices they make with that power. Today, with the passage of the bathroom bill, Texas lawmakers have failed their constituents on both counts. This bill continues a crusade designed to exclude transgender Texans from participation in public life—but ultimately it will fail. Transgender Texans have always been here and always will be. We’re going to keep fighting until every Texan is free and safe.”
Statement from Ash Hall (they/them), policy and advocacy strategist for LGBTQIA+ rights at the ACLU of Texas:
“It is unconscionable and unconstitutional to pass this bathroom ban. Texans, including the transgender community, should be able to safely use public facilities that align with our gender identities as a basic matter of respect, safety, and privacy. Instead, S.B. 8 will encourage ‘gender policing’ by bad actors who seek to harass or harm transgender people — or anyone who may not conform to stereotypical gender roles in public spaces. This law puts anyone at risk who doesn’t seem masculine or feminine enough to a random stranger, including the cisgender girls and women this bill purports to protect. Some people might forgo using public restrooms entirely out of fear for their safety, even if it endangers their health.
“This bill is bad for trans and intersex people, bad for cisgender people, bad for business, bad for public health and safety, and bad for Texas. Transgender people have always been here and always will be.”
Statement from Lambda Legal: Regional Director, Shelly Skeen:
“Texas has launched another cruel and unconstitutional attack in its relentless effort to erase a vulnerable and very small percentage of Texans–who will not and cannot be erased,” said Lambda Legal South Central Regional Director Shelly Skeen. “This is not the first such attack on the transgender community, and sadly, it will likely not be the last. It is reprehensible that anti-transgender state legislators in Texas — indeed nationwide — keep singling out transgender people to exclude them from participating fully in society simply because of who they are. We join with our allies across Texas in condemning this bill. It is harmful, discriminatory and cruel, especially when there are so many real issues confronting Texas and Texans–to focus instead on restrooms, not to mention the fact that it also bans transgender students across Texas from using the same restrooms as their peers, turning them into outsiders in their own communities.”
Statement from HRC President Kelley Robinson:
“Everyone deserves to be safe in the most private of spaces. But this latest attack from anti-equality lawmakers will put all Texans at risk. It represents a dangerous government overreach and is impossible to enforce without exposing people to humiliating inspections and questioning. For transgender Texans in particular, this will make it that much harder to go about their daily lives without fear of violence or harassment. For the bullies in Austin, everything they are doing in this special session is about exerting control simply because they can: control over who represents the people of Texas in Congress, control over the legislators’ ability to leave the legislative chamber, and control over who can safely use the restroom. All Texans deserve better. That’s why we won’t back down. We will organize, mobilize, and fight until every Texan can live freely, authentically, and without fear.”
Statement from Texas Freedom Network Political Director Rocío Fierro-Pérez:
“Government overreach into how we use the bathroom is unacceptable. Texans are worth more than lawmakers who spend their time stripping away the safety and dignity of transgender Texans while weaponizing fear to deny people the basic freedom to exist safely in public life. Regulating bathroom access not only hurts transgender people, but it also opens the door for invasive gender tests at every public restroom. Texas Freedom Network will continue to fight alongside transgender Texans and families until they are fairly represented in our state.”
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Equality Texas is the largest statewide organization working to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through political action, education, community organizing, and collaboration.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is the leading civil rights organization in the Lone Star State. Since our formation in 1938, we have worked in the courts, the legislature, and through public education to protect civil rights and individual liberty.
Lambda Legal, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.
The Human Rights Campaign envisions a world where every member of the LGBTQ+ family has the freedom to live their truth without fear, and with equality under the law. We empower our 3 million members and supporters to mobilize against attacks on the most marginalized people in our community.
Founded in 1995, the Texas Freedom Network is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization of more than 150,000 religious and community leaders who support religious freedom, individual liberties and public education.