Anti-LGBT Texas Republican Links Peeping Tom Incidents to Target Policy

One week after having dinner with the family of a transgender boy, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demonstrated Friday that the encounter won’t do anything to temper his hateful anti-LGBT rhetoric.

Paxton issued a disgusting statement in which he linked two recent “peeping tom” incidents at Target stores in Texas to the retailer’s policy of allowing trans people to use restrooms and dressing rooms based on their gender identity.Â

Mind you, there’s no indication whatsoever that either of the incidents involved a trans person or was in any way related to Target’s policy â€” which happens to be similar to those of countless other retailers. But Paxton’s statement effectively implies that trans people are sexual predators:Â

AG Paxton Offers Assistance to Target After Another Security Breach AUSTIN â€“ In the wake of multiple Dallas/Ft. Worth media outlets reporting another breach in customer security at Target stores in North Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued the following statement: “After this latest incident, I hope Target finally recognizes the importance of protecting its customers, especially in environments where they can be at their most vulnerable. I am offering them the resources of my office to help assist them in improving their safety procedures.” On May 3, 2016, a man was peering over the changing room wall with a cellphone camera at a Target store in Frisco, Texas. Since last Thursday, police in Dallas are looking for a man who committed a similar act in a Target changing room on Northwest Highway at Abrams.Â

Back in May, Paxton sent a letter to Target warning that the policy could lead to criminal activity and threatening action by the Texas Legislature. Â

Since then, Paxton’s office has filed two lawsuits against the Obama administration seeking to legalize discrimination against trans people by public schools and healthcare providers. In one of the cases, Texas obtained a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the administration from implementing its recent guidance saying public schools should allow trans students to pee in the right place.Â

Last Thursday night, after finally accepting their longstanding invitation, Paxton had dinner with the family of Adam and Amber Briggle, the parents of an 8-year-old trans boy, MG. Â

Paxton hasn’t commented on the dinner, but his statement Friday â€” along with his continued pursuit of the anti-trans lawsuits â€” speaks volumes.Â