Bills to curtail transgender people's access to public restrooms are pending in a dozen states, but even in conservative bastions such as Texas and Arkansas they may be doomed by high-powered opposition.
The bills took on a new significance this week following the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to revoke an Obama-era directive instructing public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms of their chosen gender. Conservative leaders hailed assertions by Trump appointees that the issue was best handled by the states.
Yet at the state level, bills that would limit transgender bathroom access are floundering even though most have surfaced in Republican-controlled legislatures that share common ground politically with Trump. There's been vigorous opposition from business groups and a notable lack of support from several GOP governors.
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