'Percy Jackson' author RIck Riordan, who was born in Texas, has refused an invite to the Texas legislature’s celebration of authors, citing the recent Privacy Protection Act.


Republican Representative Jason Villalba, the organizer of the event, called the situation "a bummer", and noted that he respects Riordan's stance, but is still disappointed,

I don’t want to challenge [Riordan’s] belief system. I appreciate that this is his way of making his statement about what has occurred. My only disappointment is we can’t show him how much we appreciate his great work.”

Senate Bill 6, also called the Privacy Protection Act, would require transgender people to use bathrooms of their biological gender in government buildings and give businesses the freedom to make their own policies on the subject.  Similar measures have recently passed in North Carolina, which LGBTQ Nation reports has lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars due to boycotts. The Texas Tribune noted that the Texas Association of Business, a normally conservative group, has warned that anti-LGBTQ measures could end up costing the state anywhere from $964 million and $8.5 billion.

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