Texas sues Denton to block 'Big Gay Swim Day' under bathroom law

Texas is suing the City of Denton under its bathroom law to try to stop a Pride pool party from happening this weekend.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office has sued the City of Denton ahead of the June 7 "Big Gay Swim Day," saying organizers PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton plan to convert sex-segregated changing rooms at the city-owned Quakertown Civic Center into "gender-neutral" spaces.

"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 of Denton from permitting future violations of the Texas Women’s Privacy Act at its facilities," read an Office of the Attorney General news release.

The Texas Women’s Privacy Act or the Texas bathroom law — known as Senate Bill 8 — mandates that publicly owned “private spaces” be designated on the basis of biological sex. The law further requires cities to take “every reasonable step” to ensure that individuals of the opposite sex do not enter spaces designated for the other sex.

The bill was authored by state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who is the Republican candidate for Texas attorney general, in late 2025. It was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott and became effective Dec. 4, 2025.

As Paxton's office alleges, a gender-neutral changing room that accommodates multiple occupants at once is expressly prohibited by law. Violations under SB 8 carry a $25,000 penalty for a first offense and up to $125,000 for subsequent violations.

“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.” 

The attorney general's office said that it had sent Denton officials a written notice of the planned violation on May 19.

Kayla Herrod, Denton's interim director of marketing and communications, said in a statement to USA TODAY that the upcoming rental is private and not sponsored by the city.

"The City of Denton is aware of the lawsuit filed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General," Herrod said. "Prior to any action by the Attorney General, staff proactively 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."

Herrod added that the city intends to respond to the attorney general's office "to reaffirm that the appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the changing rooms at the Civic Center Pool comply with state law."

A May 21 email from Herrod, included as an exhibit in Paxton's lawsuit, shows the city's position predates the filing.

In that email, Herrod told the complainant the rental policy requires renters to keep "all existing City signage, including restroom signage, visible and unobstructed" and that "temporary, covered, or altered signage is not permitted in accordance with the law."

PRIDENTON, OUTreach Denton call Texas AG's lawsuit 'frivolous'

In a social media post, both sponsoring organizations released a joint statement calling the lawsuit "frivolous" and a "waste of taxpayers' time and money."

"On May 21, (Denton) city staff informed PRIDENTON that we were not permitted to have all-gender bathrooms at city facilities as a result of SB 8. We removed this language from all posts and advertisements about this year's events, in compliance with these expectations," read the statement.

The statement further says that SB 8 "lacks guidance regarding its enforcement while assigning severe penalties for perceived violations."

The organization said that "Big Gay Swim Day" has been around since 2022 and is an event where invited community members can swim, dance, and exist without fear of judgment or harassment.

"As a community, we wholeheartedly condemn Paxton's pervasive use of transphobic, dehumanizing, and false rhetoric in this attack on our community," read the statement. "We look forward to celebrating and affirming Texans of all gender identities."

June marks LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the United States.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at [email protected].