Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the City of Denton and metropolis officers to stop the creation of multiple-occupancy “gender-neutral” altering rooms at a publicly owned, child-friendly swimming pool. The lawsuit comes forward of a June 7, 2026 occasion dubbed “Big Gay Swim Day,” organized by two nonprofit teams—PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton—on the Quakertown Civic Center (the “Center”).
The City of Denton owns and controls the Quakertown Civic Center. The Center features a public-access swimming pool and sex-specific multiple-occupancy altering rooms. The Quakertown Civic Center Pool is designed and marketed as a child-friendly facility. The two nonprofit teams rented the Center for an occasion that’s marketed as “Big Gay Swim Day” and is open to “all ages” of most people. Event organizers have publicly marketed that “gender-neutral changing rooms”—which might enable males to make use of the identical altering rooms as ladies and children—will probably be accessible on-site throughout the occasion. This is in clear violation of Texas legislation.
The Texas Women’s Privacy Act, also referred to as Senate Bill 8, mandates that publicly owned “private spaces” be designated on the idea of organic intercourse. The legislation additional requires political subdivisions, together with municipalities, to take “every reasonable step” to make sure that people of the alternative intercourse don’t enter areas designated for the opposite intercourse. A gender-neutral altering room accommodating a number of occupants directly is expressly prohibited underneath the legislation.
Despite receiving written discover of the deliberate violation on May 19, 2026, the City of Denton did not take any corrective motion or present assurances that the Center’s altering rooms can be utilized in accordance with their lawful sex-specific designations.
“Cities cannot disregard Texas law by allowing men to change with young kids in spaces designated for women,” stated Attorney General Paxton. “The City of Denton had an opportunity to prevent this violation and chose to do nothing. That dereliction of duty will not stand, and I will ensure that Texas cities follow our state’s laws to protect women and children from men invading their spaces.”
The lawsuit seeks to stop the illegal occasion from continuing as deliberate on June 7 and requests momentary and everlasting injunctive aid barring the City of Denton from allowing future violations of the Texas Women’s Privacy Act at its amenities.
To learn the lawsuit, click on right here.