Famed Austin Director Richard Linklater Directs Ad Against Texas Bathroom Bill

AUSTIN, TX — Famed Austin director Richard Linklater has produced a public service announcement that uses levity to counter the state's proposed "bathroom bill" that seeks to control which public restrooms are used by transgender individuals.

The ad is part of a campaign dubbed "I Pee With LGBT," which promotes the idea of allowing transgender people to use bathrooms designated for the sex with which they identify. The Texas Privacy Act, also known as SB 6, seeks to control bathroom use by people based on the gender listed on their birth certificates.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has taken on the issue as something of a cause, going on national media rounds to suggest the bill is aimed at protecting women and children from sexual predators.

But many see the proposed Texas bathroom bill as nothing more than discriminatory.

"It is and always will be illegal to harm or harass someone in a restroom," a description of the ad reads on a website detailing it. "There has been no increase in public safety incidents in Texas cities that currently allow people to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify."

Passing the bill would harm Texas business to the tune of billions of dollars. Just ask North Carolina.
A bathroom is not where women and children are at risk. Where our public bathrooms are concerned, transgender people are the real targets: 70% of transgender men and women report having been verbally or physically attacked while using a restroom.

The digital ad appears in targeted ad buys on Facebook. A cast of actors, including a pair of transgender cast members, make the point that the proposed bill is not about privacy but discrimination. The ad is replete with puns, but with a serious aim at making a point.

“You’ve got to roll up your sleeves, pull down your pants, and pee with LGBT,” one actor says in the ad. “You’ve got to take a seat to make a stand.”

The mulled legislation has been met with widespread opposition from business groups, professional sports leagues and celebrities. Patrick, meanwhile, has gone on television with impassioned defense of the bill he says is meant to protect women and children.

Linklater is an Academy Award-nominated director of “Boyhood.” He directed the ad for the ACLU of Texas and Legacy Community Health, a nonprofit health center which operates 22 clinics in Southeast Texas.

Watch the ad below:

>>> Image courtesy of "I Pee With LGBT" campaign