Inside the State Capitol lawmakers are debating and voting on the transgender bathroom bill, while outside the building local school and law enforcement officials condemn the legislation.
As Senate lawmakers debated the nature of Republican Sen. Lois Kolkorst’s Texas Privacy Act, also known as the state’s transgender bathroom bill, law enforcement leaders from across the state, like San Antonio’s Police Chief William McManus pleaded that they listen to what they had to say about the bill.
McManus says it is not a public safety solution but if signed into law it will quickly turn into a public safety dilemma.
“For every minute we are preoccupied with someone going into the wrong bathroom, that takes away from our response time, it takes away from our ability to address other more important issues. This bathroom bill is a non-issue, it’s a solution looking for a problem," McManus explains.
School superintendents like Brian Woods in San Antonio’s Northside ISD are also against the bill. He says it will do nothing to improve student safety when it comes to student privacy in bathrooms or locker rooms.
“Proponents of this bathroom bill have grossly overstated the significance of this concern. I doubt if I could find a principal anywhere who would tell me that this issue is in the top ten on their list of concerns and worries," Woods says.
While Senate Republicans have rushed to get the bill passed and send it to House for a vote, a majority of House lawmakers do not seem to be in any rush to debate the legislation.
