Transgender Texans are having their public rights sent back to the Stone Age after the Senate State Affair Committee voted to approve Senate Bill 3, which would restrict bathroom use in government buildings and public schools based on the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate.
The bill, like many other proposed ones of its kind, forces transgender individuals to use the public restrooms that correspond with their assigned gender at birth. The bill goes to prevent public facilities like schools and government offices from enforcing rules that contradict the law.
The author of the proposal, the Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, said at the start of the hearing: "We’re here today because Texas has a tradition of taking care of these issues and not being dictated to by the federal government", referencing since-rescinded guidelines from the Obama administration that accommodated transgender students in public schools.
Democrats continued questioning the legality of the proposal and its discriminatory effect on transgender people.
More than 250 LGBT business owners, activists, school administrators, and teachers signed up to testify against the bill, quoting the heart-rending suicide rates in the trans community and how a public lashing out like this could increase them.
A new HB2 is here!
A new HB2 is here!
No comments:
Post a Comment