Bathroom bill dominates day 2 at Capitol
The Capitol debate over transgender bathroom policies began, unexpectedly, Wednesday as the 85th Legislature entered its second day.
A House vote on rules for the session, a typically wonkish affair, suddenly veered into bathrooms when state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, proposed an amendment requiring people to use House-controlled restrooms that correspond to their “biological sex.”
Bathroom policy was on other minds as well.
On the Capitol’s south steps, tourism officials and convention professionals faced news cameras to criticize a proposal banning transgender-friendly bathroom policies in public schools and government buildings, calling Senate Bill 6 discriminatory, unnecessary and potentially devastating to the state’s economy.
And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who made passage of SB 6 one of his top legislative priorities, vigorously defended the bill against attacks, dismissing fears of economic harm as “bogus” and insisting that it was a matter of public safety, not discrimination.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/bathroom-bill-dominates-day-capitol/ht157clgOSdVO6fNiZeBqO/
