Just because Richard Linklater is a proud Lone Star State native, doesn’t mean the filmmaker agrees with Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. The filmmaker directed an advertisement in response to Patrick’s proposed anti-transgender bathroom initiative SB6, which would require trans people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their sex-assignment at birth as opposed to their gender identity. In the “I Pee with LGBT” ad various arguments are made against the policy, including civil rights (“because passing that bill will discriminate against friends and family”) and the effect it could have on businesses. According to Slate, the bill, also known as the Texas Privacy Act, has already received backlash from the NBA and NFL. When a similar law was passed in North Carolina many high-profile musicians and comedians canceled performances, including Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas and Tracy Morgan, while others, like Against Me!, which is fronted by transgender woman Laura Jane Grace, played in protest.
