BY: Nick Fulton
Published 3 minutes ago
Texas takes an unsurprising stand for transphobia. A new bill passed by the Texas Legislature has set a dangerous standard for the infringement of transgender rights.
Senate Bill 8, known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, would require individuals to use public restrooms and other sex-segregated facilities based on the sex assigned to them at birth, not their gender identity. The law applies to government-owned buildings, public schools, colleges, jails, and domestic violence shelters across the state. Institutions that fail to comply could face steep fines. Fines start at $25,000 for a first violation and escalate to $125,000 for repeated offenses.
The legislation would effectively force transgender people to use bathroom facilities that do not align with their gender identity. That means trans men in women’s facilities, and trans women in men’s facilities. This legislation has clearly dangerous repercussions for transgender people and for civil rights protections more broadly. Advocates have warned of the bill’s consequences since it passed the Texas House on Aug. 28.
“This law puts anyone at risk who doesn’t seem masculine or feminine enough to a random stranger, including the cisgender girls and women this bill purports to protect. Some people might forgo using public restrooms entirely out of fear for their safety, even if it endangers their health,” said Ash Hall, policy and advocacy strategist on LGBTQIA+ rights at the ACLU of Texas.
“This bill is bad for trans and intersex people, bad for cisgender people, bad for business, bad for public health and safety, and bad for Texas. Transgender people have always been here and always will be,” Hall continued.
Texas’ History of Trans Oppression
The bill’s passage follows years of similar efforts in Texas. In 2017, a high-profile attempt to restrict bathroom access for transgender people failed after a wave of corporate backlash and public protest. However, with a stronger Republican majority and shifting political dynamics in 2025, the bill advanced swiftly through both chambers of the Legislature during a special session focused on so-called women’s privacy measures.
Under the bill, even transgender individuals who have updated their birth certificates or undergone gender-affirming surgery would be required to use facilities corresponding to their sex assigned at birth. The legislation compromises the safety of transgender people in public spaces.
Transgender people already face higher rates of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This legislation will only exacerbate those numbers. Trans people are not the offenders in cases of violence; they are most often the victims.
Advocates Respond to Anti-trans Threats
Advocacy groups are preparing to respond to the expected harms caused by the bill. Rallies, public education campaigns, and legal strategies are already underway in an effort to delay implementation and raise awareness.
Texas for All has organized community protests in response to the bathroom bill. The organization, alongside Equality Texas, Planned Parenthood, and others, has amplified voices of resistance to the legislation.
Senate Bill 8 is awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. Once the legislation becomes law, transgender people in Texas will be forced into dangerous situations daily. In the coming days, the state’s trans community is bracing for the real-world effects of a law that strips them of basic dignity and access to public life.
When Texas’ bathroom bill is law, do you think trans people in the state will be less comfortable in public spaces?
