Legitimizing Hate in the Lone Star State

The Forrest Four-Cast: May 22, 2017

Congratulations, Texas, you are on your way to winning the race to the bottom. On May 21, the Texas House voted 91–50 to amend Senate Bill 2078 by adding transgender bathroom restrictions that various lawmakers have pushed for since the beginning of this year’s legislative session.

Republication representative Chris Paddie of Marshall has said that the amendment he authored has “no intent” to discriminate against anyone. He argues that his last-minute amendment is “absolutely about child safety — this is about accommodating all kids.”

Nice try, but of course this legislation is not about accommodating the kids. On the contrary, it is about creating laws that accommodate state-sanctioned discrimination. It is about creating laws that signify how this great state is now on the wrong side of progress, civil rights and equal protection.

Small steps like this lead to big things — and these are precisely the kinds of tiny cuts that will eventually result in a large loss of blood. Barring a last-minute change of heart from Governor Abbott, these onerous bathroom regulations put Texas in a very poor position moving forward.

Hugh Forrest tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often (but not always) cover technology-related trends. When not attempting to wordsmith or meditating, he serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW in Austin.