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For more info from the Houston city website, read the "equalrights_ordinance" and "ero" pdfs from here:

http://www.houstontx.gov/ordinancefeedback/

I thought the article must be exaggerating, but apparently that is not the case.

Here is what might at first appear to be a pinch of sanity in the Equal Rights Ordinance FAQ:

Does the ordinance require places of public accommodation to allow men/women to use restrooms designated for the opposite sex?
No. It does not prevent a place of public accommodation from denying a patron access to a gender specific facility (e.g. restroom, locker room, etc.) so long as the business owner has a good faith belief that the gender identity of that patron is not consistent with the gender designation of the facility.

In reality this will probably mean that if a business owner denies bathroom access to an individual on the basis of gender identity, that owner will have to spend thousands of dollars to hire an attorney, and will spend hundreds of hours to prove in court that the gender identity judgment was made in good faith.

Unless the ordinance provides a penalty for gays and transsexuals who abuse the system, even if the owner's judgment is accepted by the court the first time, nothing will prevent the same individual or a string of others sent by a gay/transsexual organization from returning to the same business and reasserting the "right" to use the wrong bathroom. The gays/transsexuals can continue to target the business until the owner either stops protecting his straight customers from shocking bathroom encounters or goes broke. The business owner's nightmare, which the local leftist media will be thrilled to report in detail, will serve as a warning to other businesses: capitulate or you might be next.

The ordinance will drive away customers, and will make every Houston business owner a potential target for expensive, time-consuming legal abuse.

Stop this nonsense from spreading.