Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the City of Denton and its top officials to stop a public swimming pool from utilizing multiple-occupancy, gender-neutral changing spaces. The legal action directly targets an upcoming all-ages event called “Big Gay Swim Day,” scheduled for June 7, 2026, at the city-owned Quakertown Civic Center.
Organized by local nonprofit groups PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton, the private event is being hosted at the public facility under a standard $475 rental agreement. Promotional materials for the event advertised that gender-neutral changing spaces would be available on-site.
According to the state’s petition, the Quakertown Civic Center contains only two multiple-occupancy changing facilities, which are permanently designated by sex as men’s and women’s rooms. State lawyers argue that the event organizers intend to disregard the standard signage and open both communal facilities to individuals of any biological sex.
The lawsuit alleges that the city is failing to uphold the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, a law passed during the previous legislative session as Senate Bill 8. The statute mandates that political subdivisions, including municipalities, designate all multiple-occupancy private spaces—such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas—strictly on the basis of biological sex.
Furthermore, the law explicitly requires municipal governments to take “every reasonable step” to prevent individuals from entering communal spaces designated for the opposite sex. Under the law, unisex or gender-neutral options are restricted to single-occupancy facilities designed for one user at a time.
A local resident triggered the state intervention by sending a formal email notice to Denton’s interim city manager, mayor, and a city council member on May 19, 2026. The notification detailed the event organizers’ public statements regarding the shared changing rooms. A city employee sent a standard response two days later outlining the city’s rental policies but did not provide specific assurances that the facility’s sex-specific spaces would be enforced during the event. Following the city’s response, the resident filed an official complaint and an accompanying affidavit with the Office of the Attorney General.
The state’s petition notes that PRIDENTON has a documented history of altering city facility designations, pointing to a similar swim event in 2024 where gendered changing rooms were temporarily converted, as well as plans for an upcoming “Night Out” event where multi-stall restrooms were advertised to be turned into all-use spaces.
“Cities cannot disregard Texas law by allowing men to change with young kids in spaces designated for women,” Attorney General 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.”
Filed on May 28, 2026, in the Denton County District Court, the lawsuit names the City of Denton, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, Interim City Manager Cassey Ogden, and Interim Parks and Recreation Director Allison Wing as defendants in their official capacities. The State of Texas is seeking an immediate temporary restraining order, followed by temporary and permanent injunctions, to prevent the city from allowing the changing rooms to be used in a gender-neutral manner during the June 7 event and any future gatherings.
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