Democrats fled Texas to stop Republican redistricting. They could also sink an anti-trans bill.

Texas State Rep. Venton Jones | LGBTQ Victory Fund

On Sunday, Texas Democrats denied House Republicans a quorum to approve a new Congressional map redrawn to add GOP seats to the slim majority Republicans hold in the U.S. House of Representatives.

They did it by fleeing the state.

While the Republicans’ gerrymandering power grab was top of mind for Texas Dems, another piece of legislation will also die without a vote if the lawmakers make good on their promise to stay absent from a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to push the redistricting plan through the Republican-dominated House.

On Monday, Texas Senate Republicans passed a draconian new anti-trans “bathroom bill” through committee that provides a rigid penalty system for any facility that does not comply. A first offense would trigger a $5,000 fine, while subsequent violations would earn $25,000 fines for each infraction, the Dallas Observer reports.

Sponsors added S.B. 7 to the special session agenda at the request of Abbott, who called the discriminatory legislation a priority.

If Democrats remain out of state for the next two weeks, the quorum break-up would last through the session’s expiration. That means that even if S.B. 7 passes the Senate, it would be dead on arrival in the Texas House of Representatives.

Out state Sen. Venton Jones (D), who made news earlier this year when he proposed to his boyfriend on the Texas House floor, urged…

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