The Republican-controlled House of Texas voted this morning to reject a Democratic amendment and approve the state's anti-transgender "bathroom bill" that will prohibit schools from allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
The House voted to reject a Democratic amendment that would have allowed schools to set their own rules.
The Texas House gave final approval Monday morning to a bill banning transgender-friend bathrooms in the state’s public schools, turning down one final Democratic amendment that would have allowed schools to opt out of the law.
“We talk about local control on this floor, but that goes far out the window when there are political points to be scored,” said Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, author of the proposed amendment. “This bill now hurts kids by exclusion and discrimination” in an environment where differences often lead to bullying.
Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, opposed the amendment, which failed, 51-95.
The House bill will require schools to open "single-occupancy" bathrooms for transgender students, which is so monstrously demeaning it gives me pause just thinking about it. It my mind, it conjures images of segregated water fountains.
And this is not a real issue. Transgender children are not a threat to anyone. There isn't a single documented case in the entire country of a transgender person assaulting or snooping on cis-gender people in any restroom. This is a response to an imagined crisis from predominately middle-aged, straight white men in office. Both Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick threatened to call a special session of the legislature to respond to the non-existent threat of transgender assault.
They like to say this is about "privacy" but they're happy to violate the privacy of transgender students who will face the threat of being involuntarily outed at school.
And not all schools, maybe even very few, will welcome the responsibility of having to closely scrutinize the private parts of their students or which bathroom they're using. And I can see the day coming when a kid is forced to take off their skirt or pants at school in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
I have many nuanced thoughts about this kind of policy, but if I'm being honest I just want to tell everyone who voted for it to go fuck themselves.