Pastor: Texas' Abbott urges churches to back 'bathroom bill'

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A pastor at a Dallas-area megachurch says Texas Gov. Greg Abbott contacted him and nine other churches, urging them to drum up support for a hotly debated "bathroom bill" currently bottled up in the Legislature.

Robert Morris, of Gateway Church in Southlake, instructed his congregation over the weekend to pressure state lawmakers to advance a bill prohibiting schools and local communities from creating ordinances designed to protect transgender Texans using public bathrooms.

Morris said the measure is "being held up right now" by Republican House Speaker Joe Straus, who opposes it.

Texas' Senate already passed a bill requiring transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding to their birth-certificate sex. A separate House version hasn't reached a floor vote, though.

Morris was part of Donald Trump's presidential campaign's evangelical advisory board.

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Copyright Associated Press. The Gayly - 5/8/2017 @ 3:18 p.m. CST