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Staff attorney Kali Cohn spoke at the Senate committee hearing on behalf of the ACLU of Texas and our 50,000+ members to oppose anti-trans legislation on the agenda for special session.
Below is a transcript of her testimony.
"Good afternoon my name is Kali Cohn, I’m here as a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. I’m here on behalf of our thousands of members and supporters to oppose SB3 and SB91. I’ve submitted written testimony to each of you which echoes largely the comments I will make here today, with some additional details and case citations.
We are here to talk about these two bills that I think we have heard well today were presented with the justification of privacy and safety. But I think as the testimony today has made clear, like their counterparts in the regular session, the bills don’t do those things and what they do do is codify discrimination against transgender Texans into our law.
Almost thirty years ago the Supreme Court ruled that sex discrimination under our federal law includes gender non-conformity. That means that discrimination against transgender people violates Title IX and that means that these bills violate Title IX. Our Constitution also requires equal provision of government services and equal access to those services. That means that discrimination against transgender people violates the equal protection clause and that these bills as drafted violate the Constitution.
I am a lawyer and I represent trans kids and their families and I can tell you I see the real life impact on these kids from that discrimination. Every day that this body has consider these bills, transgender Texans and those that love and care for them have flocked to this building pleading for recognition of their basic humanity. Passing a bill like this has serious consequences, consequences to the kids who are struggling to have a safe environment in school, consequences for the parents that love them and consequences for all of us who believe in fairness and equality because we never know who are children are going to grow up to be or who the people we love may need protection under our laws. Thank you."
