Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton ” was launched.tip line” urges residents to report to state authorities people they believe are transgender who use a bathroom that does not match their assigned gender at birth, a violation of Texas’ bathroom ban.
Paxton said in a statement announcing the report on his office’s website that the bathroom ban, known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, is intended to protect women and girls from “mentally ill men who seek to violate their fundamental right to privacy” in restrooms, locker rooms and other changing areas.
Under the law, all political-governmental and state institutions, including public schools, charter schools, and universities, must designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, or locker rooms for men or women.
Departments and agencies are required to prevent people from entering private spaces that do not match their assigned sex at birth, and each violation can result in fines and lawsuits. Fines include $25,000 for the first violation and an additional $125,000 per day for subsequent violations.
“It is sheer insanity that this kind of action is necessary, but unfortunately in an era of the radical left, it is necessary,” Paxton said in the paper. statement to abide by the law.
The law requires the attorney general’s office to investigate alleged violations, but a complaint must first be filed with the accused authority. The city of Paxton encouraged residents to submit an online complaint form asking when the alleged violation occurred and asked accusers to upload documents or up to five photos to support their claims.
“Together, we will uproot and bring justice to every state agency and political branch that opens the door for men to violate women’s privacy, dignity, and safety,” Paxton said.
Ironically, Paxton’s tip itself may violate Texas law, which prohibits photographing or recording others in restrooms or locker rooms without their consent. Critics have warned that the ban would lead to over-policing of both transgender and cisgender people who do not conform to traditional gender norms and notions of beauty.
Brian Klosterboer, Senior Staff Attorney American Civil Liberties Union of Texassaid the tip line “falsely encourages Texans to invade each other’s privacy in the bathroom.”
This law already applies to more than just toilet use. According to San Antonio ABC affiliate station KSATsome students University of Texas San Antonio Even if you are a heterosexual couple, you may be forced to move out of a mixed-sex dormitory if you share a bathroom with someone of the opposite sex.
Recently, a group called the 6W Project demonstrated at the Texas State Capitol to highlight poor enforcement. As reported, texas tribunetransgender protesters initially easily entered the bathroom of their choice without interference from security guards. They spoke in the Capitol Rotunda and then returned to the same restroom when they were stopped by police and asked to show identification.
Police later claimed that the ID request was voluntary, but protesters who refused were denied access to the restroom. Police allowed two transgender women with female gender markings on their ID cards to enter the women’s restroom, a decision that appeared to violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. Police officers were also stationed outside the women’s restrooms, but not in the men’s restrooms, highlighting the fact that the law was likely to be unevenly enforced based on complainants’ personal biases.
“I think the Texas government has just established that there is no enforceable, consistent standard for this law,” said a protester. matilda miller said to tribune.
When the bathroom ban was passed in August, Ash Hall, director of LGBTQ rights policy and advocacy strategy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, criticized the bill as unconstitutional, discriminatory and overly broad.
“SB 8 would encourage ‘gender policing’ by bad actors seeking to harass and harm transgender people or others who may not conform to stereotypical gender roles in public spaces,” Hall said. “This law puts at risk anyone who does not appear masculine or feminine enough to strangers, including the cisgender girls and women this bill seeks to protect.
“This bill is bad for transgender and intersex people, bad for cisgender people, bad for business, bad for public health and safety, and bad for Texas.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
