Percy Jackson author snubs Texas lawmakers over ‘nonsense’ bathroom bill
The Texas-born author of the Percy Jackson book series is snubbing an honour from the state legislature, over a proposed anti-LGBT bathroom law.
The state’s Republican leadership recently submitted Senate Bill 6, making Texas the latest GOP-controlled state to attempt to push an anti-LGBT law onto the statute books.
Submitted by Lt Gov Dan Patrick, the bill would overturn non-discrimination ordinances currently providing critical protections in several major Texas cities, and also force schools and state agencies to discriminate against transgender people.
The bill would ban people from using public bathrooms that do not correspond with the sex “listed on their birth certificate” – forcing muscly bearded trans men into the ladies’ room.
In light of the news, Texas-based author Rick Riordan announced he would snub a writers’ event held by the state legislature.
The Percy Jackson & the Olympians author, who was raised in San Antonio and studied at the University of Texas, explained he could not attend given his objections to the law.
He tweeted: “Just turned down an invite to be honored by TX state legislature as a Texas author. If they want to honor me, they could stop this nonsense.”
Jason Villalba, the Republican lawmaker who organised the event, told the Texas Tribune: “I saw his tweet and was, like, darn, this is a bummer.
“I don’t want to challenge [Riordan’s] belief system.
“I appreciate that this is his way of making his statement about what has occurred. My only disappointment is we can’t show him how much we appreciate his great work.”
The protest is a small example of the fierce boycotts expected if the law makes it onto the statute books. North Carolina has lost a string of major events and investments after passing a similar law.
