Texas Legislature Turns Its Back on Equality, Puts Texans at Risk as Anti-Transgender Bathroom Ban is Pushed Forward

AUSTIN, Texas — Tonight, the Texas state legislature passed the state’s latest blatant attack on the transgender community, greenlighting a bill to deny transgender and non-binary people access to public facilities that align with their gender identity. Despite fierce public opposition, lawmakers rammed SB 8  through during a special session that was originally intended to provide relief for those impacted by last month’s deadly floods. The anti-trans bathroom bill, which has now passed through the state Senate and House, moves to Gov. Abbott’s desk for his signature.

“Everyone deserves to be safe in the most private of spaces,” said HRC President Kelley Robinson. “But this latest attack from anti-equality lawmakers will put all Texans at risk. It represents a dangerous government overreach and is impossible to enforce without exposing people to humiliating inspections and questioning. For transgender Texans in particular, this will make it that much harder to go about their daily lives without fear of violence or harassment. For the bullies in Austin, everything they are doing in this special session is about exerting control simply because they can: control over who represents the people of Texas in Congress, control over the legislators’ ability to leave the legislative chamber, and control over who can safely use the restroom. All Texans deserve better. That’s why we won’t back down. We will organize, mobilize, and fight until every Texan can live freely, authentically, and without fear.”

In the face of Texas’s latest proposed bathroom ban, HRC showed up by mobilizing communities, organizing rallies across the state, testifying at legislative hearings and amplifying LGBTQ+ voices. HRC engaged directly with lawmakers, launched targeted digital campaigns, and hosted text banks to activate thousands of members in opposition to the bill and the broader gerrymandering power grab. HRC supporters in Texas have delivered more than 8,300 letters to legislators this session to oppose the ban. HRC has been on the frontlines of the fight against Texas’ efforts to patrol restrooms since 2017, when the organization helped defeat the infamous 2017 version of the bathroom bill throughout three special sessions. Since then, the community has successfully defeated repeated efforts to revive this legislation.

The cost of anti-trans legislation and the hate it supercharges is well documented. Across the country, LGBTQ+ young people have experienced higher rates of mental health crisis as a result of the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ policy and rhetoric. A 2024 Trevor Project survey showed that 90% of LGBTQ+ young people say their mental health has been negatively impacted by the anti-LGBTQ+ political climate in the country. And anti-transgender bathroom bills come with increased risks to physical safety. Reports show that transgender people who are forced to use restrooms that do not align with their gender identity face increased instances of harassment.

That threat is not reserved for transgender people alone. In recent years, as anti-transgender bathroom bills have surged across the country, reports of cisgender women being confronted and harassed in bathrooms – because of haircuts, clothing, and more – have also surged. In 2022, a woman was confronted in a casino restroom and accused of being in the wrong restroom. In 2024, a woman was confronted by a man for using a public park restroom. In January of this year, Congresswomen Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert terrorized a woman in a Capitol restroom after mistaking her for being transgender. In February, police were called on a woman in an Arizona Walmart restroom and continued harassing her even after she was made to “prove” her gender. In May, a pair of women were harassed by security and other guests in a Boston hotel restroom before being forced to leave the hotel entirely. And last month, a Minnesota teen was accosted by a server at a local restaurant, where she claims she was forced to “prove” her gender by exposing herself. She has filed a discrimination claim.

Already, Texas’ hostile climate for LGBTQ+ people is driving people from the state. Last week, MSNBC’s Ali Vitali met with Rachel Gonzales, a multi-generational Texan whose family has made the excruciating decision to leave not just the state, but the country. Her daughter Libby, who is now 15, has been telling her story to the Texas legislature since she was 7-years-old. The Gonzales family has been a constant presence in the fight in Texas, but they left out of concern that Libby’s parents would, under Governor Abbott’s policies, face criminalization for their support of Libby. And they’re not alone. According to the Williams Institute, nearly half of transgender people in the United States have already relocated or have considered relocating due to anti-transgender hate. That includes 45% of respondents who say they have a desire to leave the country.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. 

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