AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate gave its initial approval to the so-called bathroom bill on Tuesday evening in a 21-10 party-line vote.
While Tuesday's outcome came without much surprise, Democrats put up a passionate fight against the bill, which will require transgender Texans to use the bathroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate.
At the beginning of Tuesday's debate over the bill, Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, argued the measure couldn't be discussed because it wasn't relevant to the special session call.
"I know everybody in this room, and everybody in this room did not leave their common sense at home this morning," Watson said.
It was a move that had lawmakers scrambling for their rule books. Senator Watson said that a provision in the bill keeping gender separation in sports went outside the scope of the special session call because it didn't directly deal with showers, locker rooms or bathrooms.
The bill's author, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, argued that facilities, like those listed in the call, are intrinsically linked with sports.
Though the effort took up most of the morning, Watson's parliamentary inquiry was overruled by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, which was then upheld by a Senate vote.
After debate got underway, many of the arguments Tuesday were similar to the arguments discussed during the regular session, when Kolkhorst brought the first version of the bathroom bill to the Senate floor. Supporters maintain it’s about safety.
MORE | 'Bathroom bill' moves on to full Senate
"It is about the privacy and protection of our small children and our young girls and women," Kolkhorst said.
The bill's author also rejected concerns from business leaders that the measure could cost the state.
"I think daughters before dollars is important to me," said Kolkhorst.
But opponents say it could lead to violence against transgender people and could "out" transgender school children.
"We are proposing a measure here that would allow schools to cause bullying," said Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso.
Law enforcement officers from across Texas also gathered outside the Capitol on Tuesday to express their opposition to the legislation. They say requiring people to use the bathroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate creates complications for cops.
"Will we now be required to stand at the doors of bathrooms and ask for your birth certificate?" asked San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
Other law enforcement officials said the new regulation could make Texans less safe.
"It is merely an attempt to solve a problem that I do not believe exists," said Austin Police Chief Brian Manley.
Back in the Senate, protesters unfurled banners in the gallery and shouted "shame" at the lawmakers below.
But at the end of the night, the vote tally revealed little change of opinions from when the measure was first introduced during the regular session, passing easily.
The bill faces an uncertain future in the House.
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