Texas has taken a decisive step to safeguard truth and human dignity. On September 22, Governor Greg Abbott signed a new law requiring residents to use restrooms and private facilities in government-owned buildings, including schools, according to their biological sex.
“This is just common sense,” Abbott declared at the signing. The bill had passed the Texas House with an 86–45 vote on August 28, according to LifeSiteNews.
The legislation extends beyond public schools and government restrooms. It directs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to house inmates according to their sex, not their self-identified gender. It also prohibits family violence shelters from placing men in women’s facilities, except in the case of boys under 18 who are children of women being served..
The law comes after repeated incidents around the world of men posing as women to gain access to female-only spaces. “Numerous sexual assaults (and attempts at such) by men who are supposedly ‘transgender’ have already been documented in women’s facilities, including shelters,” LifeSiteNews reported, citing cases in both the U.K. and Canada. These included assaults on children, survivors of domestic violence, and vulnerable women.
Violating the Texas law will carry heavy financial penalties; $25,000 for a first offense and $125,000 for a second, according to an amendment added before passage. The law will take effect on December 4.
Texas now joins six other states that already prohibit people from using opposite-sex bathrooms in government buildings. Eight more have similar partial bans. Only Florida and Utah have gone further, making it a criminal offense in some cases.
For Catholics, this law affirms the Church’s teaching that God created humanity male and female (Gen. 1:27) and that denying this truth endangers both souls and bodies. The Catechism reminds us that chastity and respect for the dignity of the person safeguard the good of families and communities. Texas’ action can be seen as a step toward protecting women, children, and the vulnerable from confusion and harm, while restoring the natural order established by God.
As faithful citizens, Catholics are called to defend policies that uphold truth, protect the vulnerable, and resist ideologies that contradict human nature. Texas’ new law sends a clear message: reality cannot be rewritten, and the safety of women and children must come before ideology.
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