HB 1747 and HB 1748

            The 84th Texas Legislature is working hard to make it a criminal offense for transgender and intersex people to safely use the bathrooms that match their gender identity.  Representative Debbie Riddle has pushed forward two bills to the House of Representatives that would make it a criminal offense to use the bathroom that is designated for the opposite gender, where gender is determined by chromosomes or "biological sex."  Below, I have outlined House Bill 1747 and 1748 to explain their impact if they were to pass.

HB 1747: AN ACT RELATING TO THE PROSECUTION OF ENTRY OF A PERSON INTO A PUBLIC RESTROOM DESIGNATED FOR THE OPPOSITE SEX AS DISORDERLY CONDUCT.

Rep Debbie Riddle

            This bill creates amendments to the Penal Code, adding a subsection that includes people entering a public restroom that is designated for members of the opposite sex as an offense.  The only exceptions would include an adult accompanying a child of the opposite sex younger than 8 years old, and single use restrooms.

Bill Text 

HB 1748: AN ACT RELATING TO THE USE OF PUBLIC LOCKER ROOMS, SHOWER FACILITIES, AND TOILET FACILITIES; CREATING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE

Rep Debbie Riddle

            This bill would make it a state jail felony for any person of authority to allow someone to use a facility in their building that is designated for a gender that is not the individual's gender.  Anyone over the age of 13 who attempts to use the facility that is not related to their gender can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.  Gender is established by an individual's chromosomes - a male has at least one X and one Y chromosome, and women do not have any Y chromosomes.

Bill Text

Both of these bills would make it a criminal act for someone to enter the "wrong" restroom, locker room, or shower facility, as designated by your biological sex.  The bills are targeting people who are transgender - they were assigned one sex at birth, but their gender identity is the other gender, meaning that they present as the opposite sex and feel more comfortable in spaces designated for the sex that isn't the one they were assigned.

Since Riddle is defining gender based on the presence of an X or a Y chromosome, these bills also affect intersex people and their ability to use the appropriate bathroom according to their gender identity.  An intersex blogger, Pidgeon Pagonis, writes about her experiences in the imagined future once these bills pass.  For those who don't know, males usually have XY chromosomes, while females usually have XX chromosomes.  This particular blogger has XY chromosomes, but has "female-typical genitals, and testes in [her] abdomen rather than overies and a uterus."  She identifies as female, looks female, and didn't realize that she was intersex until she was in her 40s.  According to these new bills, this blogger would not be able to enter the women's restroom without facing criminal penalties because her chromosomes do not match her gender identity.

Though these bills seem ridiculous, they do not mention how they will be enforced.  In our next post, we will be discussing the complimentary gender-discriminatory bills: HB 2801 and 2802, which essentially put a bounty on people who want to use the facilities that match their gender identities.  Until next time!