AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers in Austin took aim at transgender Texans, vulnerable children, and LGBTQ families late Sunday night by advancing HB 3859, which allows adoption agencies to turn away LGBTQ couples, and SB 2078, which includes an anti-transgender amendment that bars students from using the restroom that matches their gender identity.
In a last minute move Sunday, May 21, Texas lawmakers in the House added an anti-transgender “bathroom” floor amendment to Senate Bill 2078, a bill originally focused on school districts’ safety and emergency operation protocols. This amendment specifically singles out transgender K-12 students by barring them from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. SB 2078, including the “bathroom” amendment, now goes back to the Texas Senate for approval. If voted through, SB 2078 would then head to Governor Abbott’s desk – who has said that any form of discriminatory “bathroom” legislation was a priority for this session.
“It is appalling to see Texas lawmakers use their anti-LGBTQ agenda to block children from loving families and put the safety of transgender students in jeopardy at their own schools,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Governor Abbott should protect Texas’ reputation and economy by vetoing dangerous legislation like HB 3859 instead of letting Texas lawmakers sneak discriminatory legislation through while the nation’s attention is diverted.”
Also last night, just after the Texas House approved SB 2078, the Texas Senate voted through House Bill 3859 which would allow state-funded or private adoption agencies to use religion as a weapon by refusing adoption requests by marginalized communities, including LGBTQ couples. Further, HB 3859 could bar the State of Texas from suspending contracts with state-funded agencies that subject LGBTQ youth to dangerous and medically discredited “conversion therapy” practices. HB 3859 now heads to Gov. Abbott’s desk.
“HB 3859 is a dangerous, discriminatory bill that shows the type of overarching anti-LGBTQ animus that is coloring so much of the Texas legislature this session,” said Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign and a foster and adoptive parent. “This ‘Slate of Hate’ that the Texas legislature has made a priority harms LGBTQ Texans. It is unconscionable that a bill would prioritize discrimination over the best interest of kids in the child welfare system, but Texas lawmakers have done just that. As HB 3859 heads to Governor Abbott’s desk, we hope he does not buy into a hateful agenda over the best interest of some of his most vulnerable constituents — Texas’ children looking for loving, stable homes.”
“Fresh off its passage of the most anti-immigrant legislation in the nation, the Texas legislature this weekend turned its attention to targeting women and children,” said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. “With the passage of sweeping abortion restrictions and two measures authorizing discrimination against LGBTQ families and kids, our lawmakers seem determined to make discrimination Texas’s chief export.”
“The Texas legislature is cynically advancing an aggressive agenda of discriminatory legislation for political gain,” said Rebecca L. Robertson, legal and policy director for the ACLU of Texas. “The so-called bathroom amendment approved by the House last night is billed as a compromise, but there can be no compromise on discrimination. Transgender children aren’t bargaining chips for lawmakers to trade, and their safety and dignity are non-negotiable.”
