Valley residents upset over new proposed bathroom bill

North Carolina’s “bathroom bill”, bans counties and cities from expanding anti-discrimination laws to protect transgender people and requires them to use bathrooms that match their birth genders.

“This legislation codifies what has been common practice in Texas and everywhere else forever-that men and women should use separate, designated bathrooms”, Patrick said at a Capitol press conference. In addition, the bill says that the state and various localities “may not require or prohibit a private entity that leases or contracts to use a building owned or leased by” a public entity “from adopting a policy on the designation or use of bathroom or changing facilities located in the building”.

The business lobby group group released a study done by St. Edward’s University, showing measures targeting the LGBT community would deprive Texas of an estimated 185,000 jobs and and upward of $8.5 billion in economic activity.

“This bill is written not to begin a controversy, but to end one”, Kolkhorst said in a statement. Marshall’s proposed statute – the Physical Privacy Act – would also force schools to alert parents if their child wants to identify as the opposite gender to that assigned at birth.

“Every Texan has the right to personal privacy, and these penalties protect all Texans equally”, Kolkhorst said. Lois Kolkhorst at a press conference introducing Senate Bill 6, January 5, 2017. He republished a survey done for his campaign previous year showing that 69 percent of Texas voters, including 56 percent of the Democrats, thought it should be illegal for a man to enter a women’s restroom.

“Transgender people have obviously been going into the ladies’ room for a long time, and there hasn’t been an issue that I know of”, Patrick said at the press conference, according to Austin television station KVUE.

That Virginia Legislature would propose such an overreaching bill is baffling, given the objectively negative consequences North Carolina continues to face for its passage of HB2. Furthermore, business leaders and corporations have organized themselves to fight against bathroom legislation, too, creating groups like “Missouri Competes” to lobby against anti-trans bathroom bills.

In addition to skeptical journalists questioning Patrick’s visions of bathroom predators, other critics have said no evidence exists to support his fears.

Texas has successfully challenged two federal anti-transgender discrimination rules.

“The people of Texas elected us to stand up for common decency, common sense, and public safety”.

Patrick dismissed concerns over the impact the bill could have on the state’s economy.

The NCAA pulled seven championship events out of North Carolina to protest the law, and the Atlantic Coast Conference pulled its championship tournaments out of the state as well. “The Super Bowl is teed up for 5:30 p.m. on February 7”.

“To open up facilities like a locker room to have guys go in there while girls are undressing is highly problematic, and if you don’t understand that, I probably can’t explain it to you”, Marshall said.

“We are anticipating seeing bills like these crop up in states across the country”, said Oakley.

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has not taken a side on the topic, and has not indicated whether he would sign a bill if it came to his desk.