The group had gone to the Capitol to see how the new law might be enforced in practice. An organizer told the Chronicle that officers asked for identification, and only from those trying to use the women\u2019s restroom, admitting those with \u201cF\u201d marked on the ID. Four people were given citations for criminal trespass. \u201cIt is obvious that the state troopers have no idea\u2026 how to enforce it,\u201d Chase Brunson, co-founder of Local Queer Austin, said in an Instagram video from the grounds.<\/p>\n
The bill offers no guidance regarding how institutions should police or enforce such a policy. \u201cWhen we don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to be enforced, it leads trans people to become very nervous about going out in public, because we don\u2019t know what we\u2019re faced with when we need to go to the restroom. Will we be able to?\u201d Caleb Armstrong, Local Queer Austin\u2019s other co-founder, told the Chronicle.<\/p>\n
The new law only applies to government-controlled public spaces, not your local cafe, bookstore, restaurant, church, private college or university, or any other private business or institution. It\u2019s also important to note that individuals themselves cannot be reported, arrested, or sued for using the bathroom \u2013 only institutions can be investigated and fined ($25,000 for a first violation, and $125,000 for each thereafter) for reported violations of the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not \u2018reasonable\u2019 to post security outside of bathrooms and ask people to present IDs. It is not \u2018reasonable\u2019 to ask people to prove their gender. It\u2019s not \u2018reasonable\u2019 to implement something that\u2019s extremely invasive, like a pat-down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brad Pritchett, CEO of Equality Texas<\/p>\n
Public school districts and state universities haven\u2019t been given further rules or guidelines on how to comply with the law. On Nov. 25, the University of Texas at Austin enacted an interim policy<\/a> that basically restates the bill\u2019s language without more clarification.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hayden Cohen, a 21-year-old advocate with Students Engaged with Advancing Texas, attends a public Texas commuter university. When there are no dorms on campus, going to the restroom between classes is a necessity, and there are no gender-neutral restrooms in their specific building. \u201cIt definitely instills a sense of fear of going to the restroom,\u201d Cohen told the Chronicle.<\/p>\n State agencies have to take \u201cevery reasonable step,\u201d per the bill language, to ensure that people are using the restroom according to their sex assigned at birth. Equality Texas, a statewide nonprofit for LGBTQ+ Texans, has sent out guidance letters to municipalities and school districts on how they can comply with the \u201cTexas Women\u2019s Privacy Act,\u201d as lawmakers dubbed SB 8, without violating individuals\u2019 privacy and safety.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not \u2018reasonable\u2019 to post security outside of bathrooms and ask people to present IDs. It is not \u2018reasonable\u2019 to ask people to prove their gender. It\u2019s not \u2018reasonable\u2019 to implement something that\u2019s extremely invasive, like a pat-down,\u201d Brad Pritchett, CEO of Equality Texas, emphasized.<\/p>\n The bathroom bill follows other laws like Senate Bill 12<\/a>, already in effect, which bans any learning or discussion of gender, race, and sexual orientation in Texas public schools and universities. The law has outlawed cultural and queer affinity student groups, led state universities to consider consolidating<\/a> or shuttering<\/a> their women and ethnic studies departments, and forced teachers to deadname trans students<\/a> in some districts.<\/p>\n \u201cThat made students, including myself, feel like we\u2019re not welcome on campus,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cThis adds another level of, not only are we not providing any resources for you, any centers, any affinity spaces, we\u2019re also now regulating who can go to what restroom. That\u2019s a really scary thought.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond affecting Texas public school students, teachers, and staff, SB 8 also requires that incarcerated people are housed in dormitories or cellblocks aligned with their biological sex. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a trend year after year in Texas where policies and procedures have been less supportive of LGBTQ+ people who may be currently caught up in the criminal justice system,\u201d Pritchett said.<\/p>\n It also limits access to domestic violence shelters that serve \u201cfemale victims of family violence\u201d to those assigned female at birth, excepting the victims\u2019 children aged under 17. Some shelters like SAFE Austin<\/a>, a major provider of resources and housing for Austinites experiencing domestic and relational abuse, do not designate their facilities or services as \u201cfemale only\u201d and are unaffected by the law.<\/p>\n One major concern advocates have about SB 8 is that private citizens will misinterpret or be ignorant of the actual details of the law, and believe they have the right to profile, harass, and report random people using the bathroom.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we see folks taking on this vigilante bathroom position \u2026 it\u2019s not always trans, nonbinary, intersex people that are being targeted by it,\u201d Pritchett said. \u201cIt\u2019s a woman whose hair is too short. It\u2019s a woman whose clothing isn\u2019t considered \u2018feminine enough,\u2019 who may have broader shoulders, who\u2019s too tall. It\u2019s based on someone else\u2019s opinion of what a person is supposed to look like based on gender stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n Individuals encountering harassment can reach out to organizations like Equality Texas<\/a> and the Transgender Education Network of Texas<\/a> for support and resources. \u201cIf someone is harassing you in public, somebody is demanding that you prove your gender, it\u2019s likely that your rights are being violated in some way, shape, or form,\u201d Pritchett said.<\/p>\n Pritchett says the now-effective law is yet another prong of a longer-standing attack on trans Texans. \u201c[SB 8] is designed to make people scared. It is designed to create and sow confusion. It is designed to chip away at existing protections that exist for community members in cities that may be more welcoming and progressive,\u201d Pritchett emphasized.<\/p>\n Brunson and Armstrong urge cisgender individuals to educate themselves on the details of the law so they know when to step in if they see illegal incidents of harassment. \u201cWe\u2019re asking that all cis people really stand with trans people. This bill is directly harming us, but it\u2019s also directly harming every Texan,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/s1-Hayden-Cohen-at-the-Houston-pride-parade.jpg\")
Hayden Cohen at the Houston Pride parade Credit: Hayden Cohen<\/p>\n