MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Texas House Bill 229 would legally define biological sex terms in state law. Supporters call it protection; critics worry about transgender erasure.
- Texas House Bill 239, known as the "Women's Bill of Rights," has advanced to Senate review.
- The bill would legally define sex based on biological differences and aims to protect women's spaces.
- Critics argue the legislation could harm transgender individuals by requiring identification by birth sex.
- Some transgender Texans are pausing legal name and gender marker changes due to concerns about the bill.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
House Bill 229, dubbed by Republican State Representative Ellen Troxclair as the “Women's Bill of Rights," is now under Senate review following passing the House last week.
"Protecting women's private spaces, their right to equal opportunity and their safety," said District 19 Texas House State Rep Ellen Troxclair.
The bill looks to define what "sex," "male," "female," "man," and woman" mean in the State of Texas.
"We still lacked a definition, because for thousands of years everybody clearly understood the difference; however in these times when women’s rights are being continually eroded by leftist activist Texas is saying no more.”
The bill, if passed, would list the biological differences between the sexes, stating that "only females are able to get pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed children," while listing males to be "on average bigger, stronger, and faster than females."
"When we say there is only male and female we are pretending that there's no such thing as transgender or intersex,” said Revered Charley Garrison, Pastor of Central Metropolitan Community Church.
25 News Reporter Dominique Leh met with Reverend Charley Garrison, Pastor of Central Metropolitan Community Church, who says a bill like this one, which would require trans Texans to be defined in state records by the sex they were assigned at birth, could erase the transgender community. It's a bill that would directly impact people like Lin Denson.
"I think the ways of proving that a person is male or female are incredibly invasive and awkward and scary, and I don't understand why sex is something that we're still worried about," said Lin Denson.
Because of this bill, Denson has put a pause on his legal name change and gender marker.
"I'm trans and I'm proud but I don't want my government to have proof like that to criminalize my being," said Denson.
And while many believe the world isn't black and white….
"How would you define men and women?" asked 25 News Reporter Dominique Leh
"I think sex is something assigned at birth, yes, and then later on gender is developed as a person does," answered Denson.
Our Texas leaders are standing firm on the biological definitions of the sexes.
"We will stand up for women, we will stand up for girls, Texas knows what a woman is and we are ready to protect them," said Troxclair.
