Paxton Sues Texas City To Stop ‘Big Gay Swim Day’

Texas’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, is suing the city of Denton over its “Big Gay Swim Day” at a public pool because organizers said that they would have gender-neutral bathrooms available. The event, described as a “private pool party” to “celebrate Pride,” is organized by two nonprofits, OUTreach and PRIDENTON, and is scheduled for June 7. However, Mr. Paxton — fresh off clinching the Republican nomination for Senate — said in a statement that the Quakertown Civic Center, where the event is supposed to take place, has sex-specific changing rooms.“Event organizers have publicly advertised that ‘gender-neutral changing rooms’—which would allow men to use the same changing rooms as women and kids—will be available on-site during the event. This is in clear violation of Texas law,” Mr. Paxton said. The attorney general noted that Senate Bill 8 requires that “private spaces” in public facilities be designated “on the basis of biological sex.” He also said the law “further requires political subdivisions, including municipalities, to take ‘every reasonable step’ to ensure that individuals of the opposite sex do not enter spaces designated for the other sex.”The law, known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, applies to public restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities. Institutions that violate the law can face up to a $5,000 fine for a first-time offense and a $125,000 fine for subsequent violations. Mr. Paxton, whose lawsuit asks a judge to stop the “Big Gay Swim Day,” wrote that Denton officials were given “written notice of the planned violation” on May 19, but he said they “failed to take any corrective action.”“Cities cannot disregard Texas law by allowing men to change with young kids in spaces designated for women,” Mr. Paxton said. “The City of Denton had an opportunity to prevent this violation and chose to do nothing. That dereliction of duty will not stand, and I will ensure that Texas cities follow our state’s laws to protect women and children from men invading their spaces.” A spokesman for the city of Denton said in a statement that its staff “proactively took all necessary measures to ensure full compliance with state law,” and that the city plans to respond to Mr. Paxton’s lawsuit to “reaffirm that the appropriate steps have been taken” to ensure the “Big Gay Swim Day” complies with state law. The organizers of the event criticized the lawsuit in a statement posted on Facebook, saying that Denton city officials informed them that “we were not permitted to have all-gender bathrooms at city facilities.”“We removed this language from all posts and advertisements about this year’s events in compliance with these expectations,” the planners said. However, PRIDENTON’s website still says that “gendered changing rooms will be converted for the duration of the event.” The group also accused Mr. Paxton of trying to “turn queer joy into a political spectacle.”

Paxton Sues Texas City To Stop ‘Big Gay Swim Day’

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