Texas Bathroom Bill Shot Down by House of Representatives

In a victory for transgender rights, the Texas Bathroom Bill was shot down in the House of Representatives. The bill, had it passed, would have forced transgender Texans to use school bathrooms that coincided with the sex on their birth certificates, not their gender identity.

The bill was a source of contention in Congress. Prior versions of the bill passed in the Senate, only to be killed in the House, and the House's decision to end its special session early without voting on the bill effectively killed the legislation.

"With 27 hours to go, they walked off the job," Lieutenant Governor Patrick, a vocal supporter of the bill, said in a press conference.

However, many are relieved by the House's decision. Opponents of the bill feared its passage would give other conservative states the momentum needed to pass their own transphobic laws.

Also, many large corporations, including Amazon, ExxonMobil Global Services, and IBM, who do business in Texas were also unabashedly critical of the bill, leading moderates to fear the legislation would prove costly for Texans. The NBA decided to pull the 2017 All-star Game from North Carolina after it passed a similar bathroom law.

"Today's victory shows what can happen when transgender Americans and their allies stay vigilant and push back against legislation that helps no one and harms many," said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD.

"Finally, Texans can breathe a temporary sigh of relief," HRC official JoDee Winterhof told Reuters. "Texans don't want harmful, anti-transgender legislation."