Texas Senate revives full anti-trans bathroom bill in late-night vote
The Senate in the US state of Texas has revived a full bathroom bill which would require trans people to only use public bathrooms which correspond to their sex at birth.
At 1am on Wednesday, the Senate voted 21-10 to attach an amendment to an unrelated bill about county governments.
But the Democrat who put forward the bill which the amendment was attached to won’t accept the changes.
A full bill which would have had the same effect passed in the Senate in March but was stalled in the Texas House.
On Sunday, a bill passed by the House would apply the same rules but only to school students.
The House’s bathroom bill rules passed on Sunday were also attached to a separate bill from the Senate, the original author of which has said they are “too watered down.”
The Texas legislative session ends on Monday.
The Texas House of Representatives earlier this month passed a measure to allow adoption agencies discriminate against LGBT people.
House Bill 3859, also known as the ‘Freedom to Serve Children Act’ is similar to legislation passed in other states.
It would allow state-funded adoption agencies to discriminate against couples based on religious belief.
The bill is going to the Texas Governor after getting final approval from the Senate.
The Governor of the state has said that passing the anti-LGBT legislation is a “top priority”.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott has been a leading voice in backing a frenzy of anti-LGBT legislation in Texas, after the Trump administration ended Obama-era legal resistance from the federal government against discriminatory state laws in North Carolina.
Due to the unique political system in Texas, the state legislature only actually meets once every two years, for a maximum of 140 days.
The 2017 session, which began in January is now nearing its end – putting a time limit on efforts to pass more anti-LGBT legislation.
Anti-LGBT groups in the state have previously run ads depicting a little girl getting raped in a bathroom in a disgusting anti-trans smear campaign.
After North Carolina faced a crippling economic boycott over a similar law, leaders from the entertainment industry, business world and sport have all this month warned Texas lawmakers that their state will also be shunned if SB 6 passes.
