AUSTIN – Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made his case Thursday before a group of pastors for Senate Bill 6, also dubbed the “bathroom bill” by some.
The bill would require people to use the public restroom of the gender on their birth certificate.
A group of interfaith leaders gathered to oppose the controversial bill at the First United Methodist Church near the state capitol. The interfaith group calls the bathroom bill immoral, saying it goes against values shared across many different faiths.
“Who am I? Who are you? Who are they to tell someone else who their on true self is? How to dress, how to think, how to feel, how to love. A bill like SB6, cloaked in religious platitudes, is offensive,” said Rabbi Mara Nathan, with Temple Beth-El in San Antonio.
Members of the group, like many critics of Senate Bill 6, believe that the bill is discriminatory and goes against equality of the LGBTQ community. Patrick believes the opposite and said the bill is not discriminatory. He claims it’s about safety.
Patrick said the bill is a way to keep men from going into women’s bathrooms.
“Our bill says based on your current birth certificate, so if you’re a true transgender person and you've gone to court and you've made the case and you get your birth certificate changed, there is no discrimination. But you don’t ever read that,” Patrick said.
The bill has not been voted on by the full Texas Senate.