LGBT groups celebrate as anti-trans bathroom bill is killed off in Texas
An anti-trans bathroom bill has been killed off once more in Texas, and it’s possible that the discriminatory legislation may now be on the back burner for good.
Despite support from the Republican Governor Greg Abbott, the special legislative session he ordered ended in failure on several counts, AP reports.
After 29 of a planned 30 days, the House last night adjourned and ended the session.
As well as the bathroom bill that would ban transgender people from using their preferred public bathroom, there were setbacks for plans on changes to property taxes and vouchers for private schools.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of LGBT rights group GLAAD, said: “Today’s victory shows what can happen when transgender Americans and their allies stay vigilant and push back against legislation that helps no one and harms many.”
Explainer: What is a gender-neutral bathroom?
JoDee Winterhof, of the Human Rights Campaign, said: “Finally, Texans can breathe a temporary sigh of relief. Texans don’t want harmful, anti-transgender legislation.”
Abbott had previously said he will work with lawmakers to “get a bill to my desk that I will sign into law”.
Some Texan lawmakers had been pushing for an anti-trans bathroom bill despite protests and warnings from businesses that such a law could prove catastrophic to the state’s economy.
Abbott had said that passing the draconian bill that would force trans people to use the bathroom of their “biological sex” was his top priority.
The bill, which has already cleared the state senate, threatened institutions with large fines if they permit transgender people to use the bathroom of their preferred gender – up to $10,500 for “multiple violations”.
Related: This transgender woman’s selfie with the anti-trans Texas governor has gone viral
It would have also voided local city-level anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, and define “biological sex” under law as “the physical condition of being male or female, which is stated on a person’s birth certificate”.
When similar legislation was passed in North Carolina, the state faced an economic boycott from those in the entertainment industry, business world and sport.
Following the backlash, the law was partially repealed in March.
