![\"Houston_Texas\"](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Houston_Texas.jpg?resize=600%2C398\")
<\/p>\nSuper Bowl Draws Focus to Texas and Its Impending Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill<\/b><\/p>\n
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Texas is yet another state whose GOP-led legislature\u00a0has moved to pass a so-called \u201cbathroom bill,\u201d termed the \u201cPrivacy Protection Act\u201d or Senate Bill 6, that would enforce gender policing in the use of public facilities. While this fad has arisen recently in various states<\/a>, the process\u00a0in Texas has undergone greater scrutiny of late given that Houston is set to host the Super Bowl<\/a> a week from now.<\/p>\n The similar HB2 bill in North Carolina last year<\/a>\u00a0drew widespread condemnation and\u00a0prompted both the NBA and NCAA to cancel events that had been scheduled in the state. Local business groups now fear that the same reaction could lead to several high-profile sporting events in Texas suffering the same fate, including the NCAA women<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0and men<\/a>\u2019s Final Four championship events, the former slated for this spring in Dallas and the latter in San Antonio next year.<\/p>\n Reuters reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n The cost of the so-called \u201cbathroom bill,\u201d which bars transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity, could run as high as $8.5 billion and result in a loss of 185,000 jobs in the first year alone, according to the Texas Association of Business, a conservative group that is the state\u2019s leading employer organization.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be a blot on the reputation of the state of Texas, which many of us have been working to change,\u201d said Annise Parker, who as Houston\u2019s mayor from 2010 to 2016 was the first openly lesbian<\/a> candidate elected to lead a major U.S. city. Parker, who served as mayor when Houston won hosting duties for Super Bowl LI to be played on Feb. 5, said by just filing the measure, which opponents decry as discriminatory, there has been damage to the image of the state that serves as headquarters for more than 50 Fortune 500 companies ranging from Exxon Mobil to grocer Whole Foods.<\/p>\n The effort to approve the bill has been championed by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who has dismissed opponents\u2019 concerns about economic repercussions, and is expected to pass in the Texas Senate. However, the picture is less clear in the House of Representatives, whose Speaker Joe Straus has expressed hesitation about any legislative acts that could damage the sizeable Texas economy.<\/p>\n The post Super Bowl Draws Focus to Texas and Its Impending Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n