Transgender Rights: Bathroom Bill Approved By Texas Senate, Could Join North Carolina Law

Texas moved closer to becoming the second state in the nation to pass a "bathroom bill" that would ensure people use public bathrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate Tuesday, as the Texas Senate approved S.B. 6 after four and a half hours of debate.

The Texas Senate voted 21-10 to give preliminary approval to S.B. 6, with Democrat Eddie Lucio Jr. crossing the aisle to vote with 20 of his Republican colleagues. The bill was expected to gain approval by the same margin during a final vote Wednesday before heading to the Texas House for a vote. If passed by both bodies of the state legislature, the bill will head to the desk of Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, a Republican who has stayed neutral on S.B. 6, despite criticizing the NFL for voicing concerns about the bill. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has called passing the bill one of his top legislative priorities.

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The bill's supporters argued the legislation is necessary to protect women from men in public bathrooms, while opponents said the bill was an attack on transgender people's desire to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. There was no evidence men have been preying on women in public bathrooms, they added.

On the Senate floor Tuesday, Democratic Sen. John Whitmire asked the bill's sponsor, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, why transgender women "as feminine as any woman on the Senate floor" should be required to use men's restrooms.

“That, to me, is a fatal flaw in your legislation,” Whitmire said, according to the Texas Tribune. "I’m prepared to stand here until hell freezes over to get an answer.”

“I do not have an easy answer for you,” Kolkhorst replied. “Nothing is easy about this.”

“I don’t think there’s an acceptable answer,” Whitmire responded.

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If Texas passes the bill, it would be the second such law enacted by a state, following North Carolina, which passed a similar law last year that led to boycotts of the state, canceled events — including the 2017 NBA All-Star Game — and hundreds of millions of dollars in lost business. If the bill fails in Republican-dominated Texas it might not be because of concerns over transgender rights, but because of the economic turmoil the law could bring to the state, which could include sports leagues moving large events, such the NCAA Men's Final Four, out of the state.

Texas was not the only state that might soon have to wrestle with these issues. Bathroom bills are currently pending in a dozen states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many of the authors of these bills have cited the Obama administration's May 2016 guidance on transgender issues at schools as the reason for introducing bathroom legislation. That guidance, which was rescinded by the Trump administration last month, said schools should allow students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.