AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the city of Denton to prevent the creation of multiple-occupancy “gender-neutral” changing rooms at a publicly owned swimming pool.
The lawsuit comes ahead of a June 7, 2026 event dubbed “Big Gay Swim Day,” organized by two nonprofit groups — PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton — at the Quakertown Civic Center.
Paxton
Denton owns and controls the Quakertown Civic Center, which is advertised as a child-friendly facility and includes a public-access swimming pool and sex-specific multiple-occupancy changing rooms.
The two nonprofit groups rented the Center and publicly advertised that “gender-neutral changing rooms” will be available on-site during the event, which the Office of the Attorney General contends is in clear violation of Texas law.
“Cities cannot disregard Texas law by allowing men to change with young kids in spaces designated for women,” said 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 Texas Women’s Privacy Act mandates that publicly owned “private spaces” be designated on the basis of biological sex. The law further requires political subdivisions, including municipalities, to take “every reasonable step” to ensure that individuals of the opposite sex do not enter spaces designated for the other sex.
A gender-neutral changing room accommodating multiple occupants at once is expressly prohibited under the law, according to the OAG.
Despite receiving written notice of the planned violation on May 19, 2026, the city failed to take any corrective action or provide assurances that the Center’s changing rooms would be used in accordance with their lawful sex-specific designations.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent the unlawful event from proceeding as planned on June 7 and requests temporary and permanent injunctive relief barring the city from permitting future violations of the Texas Women’s Privacy Act at its facilities.
The lawsuit was filed May 28 in Denton County District Court.
Denton County District Court case number 26-5622-442
