The Texas House on Sunday voted on a
bill that seeks to prohibit transgender public school students from
using the bathroom of their choice.
The GOP-led House approved the measure
with a 91-50 vote. A second vote in the House is needed before the
bill can be sent to the Senate, which earlier this session approved a
broader bill.
According to The
Dallas Morning News, Democrats opposed to the bill compared
it to a Jim Crow-era attack on defenseless youth.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has
been outspoken in his support for a bill that limits bathroom access
for transgender people. Last week, the Republican threatened to keep
lawmakers beyond May 29 if the bill is not acted upon in the House.
The Human Rights Campaign (HCR) called
the measure “shameful.”
“Transgender youth deserve the same
dignity and respect as their peers, and this craven attempt to use
children as a pawn for cheap political points is disturbing and
unconscionable,” JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president for policy
and political affairs at HRC, said in a statement.
North Carolina last year became the
first state to limit transgender bathroom access in public buildings.
Under pressure from corporations and affinity groups, lawmakers this
year were forced to repeal a part of the law, though many activists
said the rollback didn't go far enough.