AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The path for Texas to enact its version of a North Carolina-style bathroom bill is poised to get far tougher as the Republican-controlled state House closes in on a key midnight Thursday deadline to approve legislation.
A proposal mandating transgender Texans to use public restrooms according to their birth certificate gender sailed through the Texas Senate weeks ago, but a similar measure that bans schools and local communities from passing ordinances to protect LGBT rights has been bottled up in the House. That’s despite Republican Gov. Greg Abbott urging fellow members of his party to support it and even calling pastors at evangelical churches around the state to increase public pressure.