Texas Senate passes bathroom bill despite objections from businesses, law enforcement

The Texas Senate passed a legislation that would restrict public restroom access for transgender people despite objections from business owners and law enforcement.

Senate Bill 3, which would require transgender individuals to use bathrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificates, was approved by the Senate by a vote of 21–10 on early Wednesday shortly after midnight, Fox News reported. The legislation has now been sent to the House, where it faces opposition.

In a news conference on Tuesday, police chiefs from three of the five biggest cities in Texas called on lawmakers to reject the legislation, arguing that it is discriminatory and does not keep the public safe.

"If a bill like this were to be passed that would pull police officers' time away from combating violent crime into enforcing a bathroom bill, it makes communities less safe. It is time not spent ensuring community safety," said Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.

The bill also faced opposition from some Fortune 500 companies based in Texas, such as AT&T, Dell, Kimberly-Clark, Southwest Airlines and Texas Instruments.

In a letter sent to Gov. Greg Abbott last week, corporate leaders warned that the measure would "seriously hurt the state's ability to attract new businesses, investment, and jobs."

According to The Daily Beast, the bill does not include penalties for those who are found to be in violation of the measure, and transgender individuals could not be arrested and prosecuted for using bathrooms of their choice. However, the Texas attorney general could sue local governments and schools that adopt policies that allow transgenders to use bathrooms that do not match the sex on their birth certificates or state-issued ID.

Proponents of the bill have argued that bathroom restrictions are needed to protect the safety of vulnerable women and children.

Cindy Asmussen, an adviser to the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee, testified in favor of SB3 and pointed to the case of 30-year-old Hubert Justin Powell, who was recently caught in the act of attempting to rape an 8-year-old girl in a restroom stall at a public library in Austin.

"Even though we already have laws that deal with sexual crimes, the issue here is no one questioned the fact that this man was entering a women's restroom," Asmussen said, as reported by Baptist News Global.

"We cannot become desensitized to this when we know that perpetrators will take advantage of any opportunity to utilize all manipulative means of deception to pursue their desired end by initiating contact, engaging or gaining access to their victims, and we must set the standard for public safety," she added.

Tuesday's vote, which followed eight hours of debate, was the second attempt by Texas lawmakers to pass a bill restricting bathroom use. A previous bill was approved by the Senate but died in the House without a vote.