Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill banning trans-identified men from entering women’s spaces

September 25, 2025

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law Monday, making his state the latest to ban trans-identified men from entering women’s spaces amid concerns over privacy and safety.

The Christian Post reports that Abbott signed the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, also known as Senate Bill 8 into law, after it was approved by the Republican-controlled House and Senate last month.

The new law, which is set to take effect on Dec. 4, requires a classification for “each multiple-occupancy private space in a building” to be designated for use by only one sex, which is defined as “an individual’s biological sex, either male or female.”

The law also directs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to “ensure inmates are housed in a correctional facility, including a dormitory or cellblock of a correctional facility, according to the inmate’s sex.”

Another provision of the law forbids family violence shelters which are “designed specifically to provide services to female victims of family violence” from admitting men, unless the male is 17 years old or younger and is the child of a female victim.

According to the Christian Post, violators of the Texas Women’s Privacy Act face a $25,000 fine for the first violation and a $125,000 fine for each subsequent violation.

Attorney Sara Beth Nolan from the Alliance Defending Freedom, praised the legislation’s passage in a statement earlier this week, saying: “SB 8 ensures that girls’ private spaces in domestic violence shelters, correctional facilities, public higher educational institutions, public schools, and government buildings are not open to men, but instead prioritizes the privacy of everyone in Texas.”

With the signing of SB 8, Texas joins Arkansas, Florida, Montana, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming in banning trans-identified people from using sex-segregated spaces based on their self-declared gender identity in government buildings.

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