Texas lawmakers are weighing a controversial bill that could send transgender people to state jail for up to two years, simply for identifying as their true selves on official documents.

The bill, filed last week by Republican state Rep. Tom Oliverson, seeks to criminalize what it calls ‘gender identity fraud,’ making it a state jail felony for any Texan to ‘knowingly make a false or misleading verbal or written statement’ about their sex assigned at birth when interacting with the government or employers. 

In what would be one of the most extreme anti-trans proposals yet introduced in the United States, the penalty would see offenders jailed for to two years and fined $10,000 fine, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The bill currently lacks co-sponsors and is unlikely to pass in its current form but LGBTQ advocates believe that its introduction signals a terrifying escalation in efforts to erase transgender lives from public existence in Texas.

Advocates and legal experts are sounding the alarm, describing the bill as a clear attempt to criminalize transgender existence itself.

If passed, critics say the law would force trans Texans to out themselves every time they engage with government agencies or employers – and if they refuse to mark ‘M’ or ‘F’ according to their birth sex, they could face prison time.

Changing a driver’s license or even applying for jobs could become a criminal act.

The bill comes amid a tidal wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation flooding the Texas Statehouse. 

Texas lawmakers are weighing a controversial bill that could send transgender people to state jail for up to two years, simply for identifying as their true selves on official documents

The bill, filed last week by Republican state Rep. Tom Oliverson, pictured, seeks to criminalize ‘gender identity fraud,’ making it a state jail felony for any Texan to ‘knowingly make a false or misleading verbal or written statement’ about their sex assigned at birth

According to Equality Texas, nearly 170 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been filed this year, many targeting transgender rights directly. 

These include bathroom bills, healthcare bans, and limits on trans athletes, cementing Texas as a national epicenter of efforts to roll back hard-won LGBTQ+ protections. 

Rep. Oliverson, the bill author’s legislative record includes supporting previous measures to ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors and restrict LGBTQ+ education in schools.

Notably, the ‘gender identity fraud’ bill follows hot on the heels of a separate proposal by Republican Rep. Brent Money, which seeks to ban all gender-affirming care for adults, expanding an earlier law targeting trans youth to now encompass all ages. 

If passed, Money’s bill would strip public funding from any medical institution offering hormone therapy, surgeries, or even puberty blockers to trans patients – regardless of age.

Money, defending his bill in a statement on social media, claimed it was intended to ‘protect vulnerable people from irreversible procedures’, though every major US medical association, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, has affirmed that gender-affirming care is life-saving and essential for trans people.

According to Equality Texas, nearly 170 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been filed this year, many targeting transgender rights directly

Medical professionals are unanimously opposed to these sweeping measures, warning that cutting off trans people’s access to identification and healthcare will trigger a mental health crisis and an increase in suicides

Medical professionals are unanimously opposed to these sweeping measures, warning that cutting off trans people’s access to identification and healthcare will trigger a mental health crisis and an increase in suicides.

A 2023 survey from Advocates for Trans Equality, involving more than 90,000 transgender respondents, found that 94 percent of trans people who accessed gender-affirming care reported greater satisfaction with life, and a significant reduction in suicidal ideation.

This latest move fits into a broader and years-long campaign against transgender people in Texas, a state that has often led the charge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

In 2017, Texas was one of the first states to attempt a ‘bathroom bill’, which would have barred trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity — though it failed amid fierce public opposition.

In 2022, after failing to pass a bill banning transition care for minors, the Texas Attorney General issued a legal opinion equating such care to child abuse, triggering investigations into families supporting their trans children.

The ‘gender identity fraud’ bill follows hot on the heels of a separate proposal by Republican Rep. Brent Money, pictured, which seeks to ban all gender-affirming care for adults, expanding an earlier law targeting trans youth to now encompass all ages

If passed, Money’s bill would strip public funding from any medical institution offering hormone therapy, surgeries, or even puberty blockers to trans patients – regardless of age

Money has defended his bill claiming it was intended to ‘protect vulnerable people from irreversible procedures’, though every major US medical association has affirmed that gender-affirming care is life-saving and essential for trans people.

There has been a broad and years-long campaign against transgender people in Texas, a state that has often led the charge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

Experts warn that Texas often sets the national standard when it comes to anti-trans legislation

Texas has also barred trans student-athletes from playing on teams consistent with their gender, and refused to allow gender marker changes on birth certificates and state IDs, citing an executive order from President Trump signed earlier this year. 

While Oliverson’s bill may seem extreme, experts warn that Texas often sets the national standard when it comes to anti-trans legislation.

Several other states, including Florida, Tennessee, and Missouri, have already passed or introduced legislation restricting trans healthcare, education, and public life, but none have gone as far as criminalizing trans identity itself – a line that Texas now threatens to cross.