TX Senate OKs bill restricting use of government and school bathrooms by trans

[Jessica_Rose]

Senate OKs latest bill restricting use of government and school bathrooms by transgender people

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/senate-oks-latest-bill-restricting-use-of-government-and-school-bathrooms-by-transgender-people/ar-AA1JU4uU?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=26bb4c9925494b57a5ed1605c3dc70a5&ei=200

Story by Ayden Runnels

The Texas Senate on Wednesday again approved a "bathroom bill" proposal that would restrict transgender people from using bathrooms in government and school buildings that match their identifying gender.

Senate Bill 7 passed 18-2 in the upper chamber, as some Democrats were in Boston on Wednesday and not present on the floor. The bill would mandate that people only use restrooms in government buildings and schools that match their sex assigned at birth. Similar restrictions would also be placed on prisons and women's violence shelters based on biological sex, which the bill also defines.

Supporters of SB 7 and similar legislation have framed the bill as a way to protect women from discomfort and predation in private spaces. The bill's author, Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, said the bill was common sense that upheld "basic biblical truths."

More than 400 people registered to testify in person or through writing on SB 7, most of whom were against the bill. Of those, more than 100 gave in-person testimony during a Senate State Affairs committee meeting Monday that at times became emotional over fears or recollections of harassment and abuse.

During that testimony, opponents of the bill said they feared that attempts to enforce the law would evolve into discriminatory scrutiny and surveillance affecting both cisgender and transgender women.

Supporters of the bill maintained that it would protect women, and that they felt unsafe sharing restrooms or changing rooms with transgender people.