Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (left) – Photo: Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) is under siege from a deluge of phone calls, emails or letters opposing his pet project, the so-called “Texas Privacy Act,” which would force individuals to use public restrooms based only on their biological sex at birth. But Patrick is dismissing the criticism as fear mongering by the political Left.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Patrick’s office has received more than 10,000 types of correspondence opposing the act, also known as SB 6, compared to just 200 calls, emails or letters supporting it. Still, Patrick’s spokesman attributes the lopsided margin to an “orchestrated phone and email campaign organized by the left wing.”
By comparison, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has received more than 800 emails, letters and messages since last summer, with opinion largely evenly divided as to whether or not transgender people should be restricted from using bathrooms that match their gender identity. House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) received 200 pieces of correspondence during that time, most of which opposed any push for further transgender bathroom restrictions.
A number of people who contacted the three Republican leaders cited their own political leanings as Republicans when expressing opposition to a measure like the Texas Privacy Act.
“I was voting Republican before you could spell it. This is stupid. Do I wear my birth certificate and driver’s license on my shirt before I make a bathroom call or do I just drop my pants before I go in so that someone can check the plumbing?” one rancher wrote in an email to Abbott’s office. “I don’t vote for stupidity. Don’t expect another vote from me if you support this.”
But public polls seem to paint a contradictory picture of where Texans stand on the issue. Patrick has cited a poll by Baselice & Associates from November, which asked whether it should be illegal for a “man” to enter a public women’s restroom, locker room or shower. Sixty-nine percent of Texans supported making that illegal, although there was no specific mention of transgender people in that poll.
A memo from the polling firm said that support didn’t change when people were told “some business groups say that passing a law to prohibit men in women’s restrooms would look discriminatory and hurt business,” while also adding that Texas lawmakers were concerned about sexual predators. In other words, the poll was heavily biased in favor of Patrick’s position in the way it worded the questions.
That said, another poll, from the University of Texas and Texas Tribune, which was conducted in October, found that a majority of Texans want transgender people to use restrooms based on their birth gender rather than their gender identity. Among Republicans, that number increases to more than three-in-four.
Patrick’s spokesman, Alejandro Garcia, told the Express-News that the polling data “stands in sharp contrast to this orchestrated phone and email campaign organized by the left-wing after a misinformation blitz targeting Senate Bill 6. The vast majority of Texans support the Texas Privacy Act and are counting on the lieutenant governor’s leadership in getting the bill passed. We have not requested that supporters call or email our office.”
While opponents of the bill have urged their contemporaries to contact their elected officials to express opposition, the person who holds the key to whether the bill could pass is Straus. Given Patrick’s support of SB 6 and the ideological makeup of the state Senate, it is likely the measure will pass easily. But more Texas House members, including a number of Republicans, are wary of taking any action that might make them a target of economic boycotts similar to those unleashed on North Carolina after the passage of its controversial HB 2 law.
According to the official tally received from Straus’ office, the House Speaker received 174 calls or written communications opposing the idea of legislating transgender people’s access to public restrooms, two calls opposing discrimination in general, and seven comments and calls supporting the idea that serves as the basis for the Texas Privacy Act.
Straus has previously dismissed the bathroom bill as a distraction that “could make Texas less competitive for investments, jobs and the highly skilled workforce needed to compete.” In a speech at a legislative conference sponsored by the Texas Association of Business in January, Straus said: “We want to continue [our state’s economic] success and we want Texas to keep attracting the best and the brightest. One way to maintain our economic edge is to send the right signals about who we are.”
A page touting Golden Girls actress Bea Arthur's military service during World War II was reportedly scrubbed from the U.S. Department of Defense website as part of the Trump administration's overzealous efforts to purge anything related to diversity or LGBTQ identity.
Last week, X user @swiftillery noted that the article on Arthur -- first published in October 2021 -- had been removed from the Defense Department website.
According to The Advocate, the Internet Archive documented a "404 -- Page Not Found" message at the URL where the article had been housed.
Jo Ellis, a transgender pilot in the Virginia Army National Guard, is suing a right-wing influencer Matthew Wallace for claiming she was flying the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines plane, causing a fatal crash that claimed the lives of all 67 people inside both aircraft.
Ellis claims Wallace, who has 2.3 million followers on X, exploited the January 29 tragedy for "clicks and money" and accuses Wallace of deliberately spreading information he knew to be false.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Thanks to the Trump administration, policing gender is becoming the norm -- and it's about much more than trans women.
By Riki Wilchins
March 29, 2025
A Tucson Walmart called the police on a Black "stud"-identified lesbian last month, claiming a man had entered the women's room.
The two male Pima County sheriff's deputies accosted 19-year-old Kalaya Morton just after she had used a tampon and while she was in the stall still trying to pee.
They demanded that she come out immediately, which she was unable to do. Even after she finished her business and exited the stall, lifting her shirt to show the two men that she was a cisgender woman, one of the male deputies still complained that Kalaya "looked like a man."
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.