Hundreds pack Texas Capitol for transgender bathroom debate
AUSTIN, Texas — Hundreds of transgender-rights supporters packed the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, seeking to speak out against a North Carolina-style “bathroom bill” that has drawn opposition from sports leagues and companies such as Facebook.
The bill would require transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. But unlike in North Carolina, where the law known as HB2 passed a year ago with broad Republican support, the Texas bill has split conservatives and faces a tougher road.
More than 400 people who jammed the Capitol to speak on the bill created a scene that rivaled the intensity and emotion of a vote last month over a ban on so-called “sanctuary cities” that don’t co-operate with federal immigration officials. But whereas that divisive proposal passed over occasional protests in the Senate gallery, lawmakers discussing the bill in committee this time gathered in a smaller room that made for easier crowd control.
Large numbers of bill supporters also turned out in droves and waited throughout the day and evening to tell lawmakers why they support it. Among them was the superintendent of a tiny Texas school district that sued last year over former President Barack Obama’s attempts to strengthen transgender rights in public schools nationwide. President Donald Trump has since rescinded those school orders.