Paxton Sued Denton Over a Pride Pool Party. The City Had Already Complied With the Law.

The City Complied. Paxton Sued Anyway.

On June 1, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the city of Denton over changing rooms at a Pride pool party scheduled for June 7. The lawsuit cited Senate Bill 8, the state’s bathroom law, which requires publicly owned facilities to separate changing areas by sex assigned at birth.

11 days. The city informed organizers on May 21 that gender-neutral changing rooms were not permitted under SB 8. Organizers removed all references that same day. Paxton filed the lawsuit on June 1.

Paxton’s office had sent written notice to Denton city leaders on May 19. By May 21, city staff informed PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton that all-gender bathrooms violated the law. The organizers removed every mention of gender-neutral changing rooms from their event advertising. The original event page returned a 404 error by May 29.

Paxton filed the lawsuit anyway. He sought a temporary restraining order to block the event and permanent injunctive relief. The city had levied zero fines.

What SB 8 Does

Senate Bill 8, signed by Governor Greg Abbott in September 2025 and effective December 4, 2025, requires multi-occupancy bathrooms, showers, and changing rooms in government-owned buildings to be separated by sex assigned at birth. It covers public schools, universities, prisons, and government facilities.

$125,000 per day. SB 8 fines escalate from $25,000 for a first violation to $125,000 per day for subsequent violations. Both the attorney general and private citizens can sue.

The fines were quintupled from the original bill during the legislative process. In December 2025, Paxton’s office launched a tip line for the public to report suspected violations.

The Political Calendar

Paxton filed the lawsuit 10 days after winning the Republican Senate primary runoff on May 26 with 63.8% of the vote, aided by a late endorsement from President Trump. He faces Democrat James Talarico in the November general election.

The lawsuit landed on the first day of Pride Month. The event, “Big Gay Swim Day,” is a community pool party that PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton have held annually since 2022 at Denton’s Quakertown Civic Center.

What Each Side Said

Denton’s interim marketing director Kayla Herrod said the city “proactively took all necessary measures to ensure compliance” and intended to respond to the attorney general to reaffirm that changing rooms at the Civic Center Pool comply with state law.

PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton called the lawsuit “frivolous” and “a waste of taxpayers’ time and money.” They said SB 8 “lacks guidance regarding enforcement while assigning severe penalties for perceived violations” and “gives license to harass and surveil any person who does not present or conform within the narrow limitations of an oppressive gender binary.”

What You Can Do Now

Contact your Texas state legislators and ask them to oppose expansion of SB 8 enforcement powers. The law already allows private citizens and the attorney general to sue. Expansion bills are expected in the next session.
Support Equality Texas for legal updates and advocacy toolkits on SB 8 compliance and enforcement challenges.
If you are in Denton County, attend the Big Gay Swim Day on June 7 at Quakertown Civic Center. The event is proceeding.
Contact your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to oppose federal bathroom legislation modeled on SB 8.