The ACLU of Texas, Houston nonprofit Legacy Community Health, and Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater want Texans to “pee with LGBT.”
The Texas Legislature has proposed a bill similar to North Carolina’s HB2—a law that would make it illegal for transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they identify as. In response, this group of opponents launched a campaign to educate Texans on the consequences the bill would have, and what they can do to stop it.
“You’ve got to roll up your sleeves, pull down your pants, and pee with LGBT,” the ad says.
A social media campaign follows the ad, using #IPEEWITHLGBT and #StopSB6.
Watch our new ad opposing the “bathroom bill.” https://t.co/CX2iKw1McK You have to take a seat to make a stand! #SB6 @LegacyCommunity
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) February 20, 2017
Watch our new ad opposing Texas’ bathroom bill we did w/ @aclutx. You’ve gotta take a seat to make a stand. #SB6https://t.co/VX1ue0u5Eo
— Legacy Community (@LegacyCommunity) February 20, 2017
By the click of a button, the website’s users are taken to a page with an editable, pre-typed email, ready to be sent to Texas lawmakers to show disapproval of the bill. The form requires an address so it knows which upper chamber representatives the email should be sent to. Citing a statistic that nearly 70 percent of transgender people experience threats and harassment in the bathroom, the campaign’s website aims to discredit the claim that bathroom bills protect anyone.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is a strong advocate for the proposal, referring to it as a “common sense” privacy bill to “protect” all Texans.
Though the ad is obviously humorous, it discusses the economic harm that would come from the bill, based off of the backlash the state has already received and the experiences from other states.
North Carolina has taken a serious financial blow totaling to around $1 billion because of HB2’s effects on the state’s businesses. The NBA has already threatened to overlook Texas for future events if the bill passes.
SB6 was sent to the Senate State Affairs last month, and another date for hearings hasn’t been set yet.
