Texas House passes nation’s most financially punitive bathroom bill after Scripture-infused debate
Democrats cite Galatians 3:28, other Bible passages in opposition: 'Everyone is born a child of God'
The Bible was front and center in Austin ahead of the passage of a Texas bill that prohibits people from entering opposite-sex bathrooms in government buildings and public schools.
Texas House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 8 in an 86-43 vote last Thursday following a tense four-hour debate full of impassioned pleas to Scripture by both supporters and opponents of the bill.
Dubbed the “Texas Women’s Privacy Act” by supporters, SB 8 would also prohibit men who identify as female from entering women’s domestic violence shelters unless they're under 17 and accompanied by a mother receiving services. A last-minute amendment by Rep. Steve Toth, R-Conroe, raised fines to $25,000 for a first violation and $125,000 for subsequent ones, making it the nation’s most financially punitive "bathroom bill."
Leading up to the vote, lawmakers made their last-ditch appeals either for or against SB8 — including a number of those who invoked the authority of the Bible.
Supporters of the bill, including Rep. Angelia Orr, R-Itasca, argued for safety and privacy for females. “The preference of someone’s sexual appearance does not override the safety and privacy of a biological female,” Orr said, noting the bill targets public institutions, not private businesses or individuals.
But some Democrats voiced their belief that Republicans in favor of SB8 were violating the Christian faith.
Rep. Rafael Anchia, who represents part of Dallas County, cited one of the most familiar verses in the New Testament before he was briefly interrupted. “As a Christian, I want to refer to an important passage in Galatians Chapter 3, verse 28: ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile …” he began.
"Oh, please,” an unidentified female lawmaker interjected.
Turning in the direction of the protester, Anchia continued, repeating the final part of the verse for dramatic effect. " ... Neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one, for you are all one, for you are all one in Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Some people have difficulty when you speak the word of God to them, truth to power. So members, for public safety reasons, for business reasons, for reasons of faith and conscience, I ask that you oppose this bill,” Anchia added.
The 56-year-old lawmaker, who has represented his district in Austin since 2005, also rebuked his political opponents by quoting Matthew 7: “Do not judge or you too will be judged. You too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,” he said. “ ... Heed those words when you heckle, when you deride, when you stand up and speak ill of someone professing their faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heed those words.”
In response to Anchia’s reference to the New Testament, Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton, accused Anchia of taking the Scriptures out of context. “A representative quoted from Matthew 7 about judging. I would encourage that representative to keep reading because only a few verses later is a warning of false prophets, wolves in sheep's clothing,” she said. “There's a warning for anyone who proclaims to know Jesus might not be entered into the kingdom if he does not know them.
“And so, I love to bring the example of Jesus here to this podium,” she added. “He protected women. He elevated women. He honored women, and that's what this bill does.”
Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, also appealed to Scripture in his opposition to SB 8. “Everyone is born a child of God, and everyone who is born into this life deserves to be treated that way,” he said. “That is what the Bible says, that is what our hearts tell us, and the only time we act differently is when we get into politics.”
Following its passage in the Texas Legislature, SB 8 will go back to the state Senate for final approval.
For over a decade, Texas lawmakers have proposed civil or criminal penalties for restroom use based on one's sex, not their self-declared gender identity. Since 2017, the Texas Senate has passed six different bathroom bills, while the state House has only had one proposal in that same year.
More than 20 other states have passed their own similar legislation, including Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma and South Carolina, according to the LGBT Movement Advancement Project.
