Attorney General Ken Paxton suing city of Denton over gender-neutral changing rooms being allowed at Pride event

Attorney General Ken Paxton says he's suing the city of Denton over gender-neutral changing rooms being available at a June Pride event at one of the city's public pools.

The June 7 event, called "Big Gay Swim Day," was organized by two nonprofit groups – PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton, and is set to be held at the Quakertown Civic Center.

The city owns the center, which has a public-access swimming pool and sex-specific multiple-occupancy changing rooms. The event is advertised as open to the general public of all ages, and organizers have announced that gender-neutral changing rooms will be available on-site.

Paxton said that by having gender-neutral bathrooms, the event is in violation of Senate Bill 8.  

The bill, also known as the Texas Women's Privacy Act, which was signed by Gov. Abbott in September of 2025, mandates that publicly owned "private spaces" be designed on the basis of biological sex. The law applies to restrooms, locker rooms, and other changing facilities in public schools, universities, prisons, jails, and government-owned buildings.

The only exceptions are for children under 10 accompanied by an adult, as well as custodians, law enforcement, and medical workers.

Paxton said that a written notice of the planned violation was sent to the city of Denton on May 19, and the city "failed to take any corrective action."

"Cities cannot disregard Texas law by allowing men to change with young kids in spaces designated for women," Paxton said in a statement. "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." 

Under SB 8, institutions face penalties that include $5,000 for a first offense and up to $125,000 for subsequent violations.

Paxton's lawsuit seeks to stop the "Big Gay Swim Day" event and requests temporary and permanent injunctive relief barring the city from violating the law in the future. 

City plans to respond to Paxton concerning lawsuit

CBS News Texas reached out to the city for comment, and city officials said before any action by Paxton, staff took "all necessary measures to ensure full compliance with state law in advance of PRIDENTON's rental of the Civic Center Pool on June 7, including informing the organizers that certain elements of their advertising conflicted with state law and advising them of the requirement to comply." 

The city assured that the upcoming rental is "private" and not sponsored by the city. 

The city also said it "intends to respond to the Texas Office of the Attorney General to reaffirm that the appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the changing rooms at the Civic Center Pool comply with state law." 

Organizers slam lawsuit

In a joint statement shared via Facebook Monday afternoon, PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton said they were disturbed saying in part "This frivolous lawsuit is a waster of taxpayers' time and money."

The groups said the city told them on May 21 that all-gender bathrooms at city facilities were not allowed, and that the groups removed the language from all posts and advertisements about it.

"SB 8 lacks guidance regarding its enforcement while assigning severe penalties for perceived violations. Furthermore, this legislation gives license to harass and serveil any person who does not present or conform within the narrow limitations of an oppressive gender binary," the groups' statement reads. "Ken Paxton's history of protecting predators instead of prioritizing the safety of children is well-documented and does not align with this lawsuit's alleged motivation."

PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton also said Big Gay Swim Day has been held since 2022 and has offered a place for community members to "swim, dance, and exist without fear of judgement or harassment".