Rick Riordan, creator of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and other series, has taken a stand against the proposed Texas “bathroom bill.” In protest, Riordan, who was born in San Antonio, has turned down an invitation to attend the Texas Legislature Celebration of Texas Authors on March 8, 2017. Riordan posted this tweet on January 6: Just turned down an invite to be honored by TX state legislature as a Texas author. If they want to honor me, they could stop this nonsense. The tweet came a day after Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick presented Senate Bill 6 that requires people to use the bathroom that matches their biological gender in schools and other public buildings, with each violation enforced through a civil fine of at least $1,000. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham). Since the tweet first appeared, it has received about 11,500 likes and more than 4,000 retweets. The tweet prompted a response from Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas), who is the organizer of the event that Riordan declined to attend. “I don’t want to challenge [Riordan’s] belief system,” Villalba told the Texas Tribune. “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.” Riordan’s tweet prompted other authors who were invited to the event to take a stand. Amanda Eyre Ward, whose latest book The Nearness of You (Ballantine) comes out in February, also declined via Twitter. Meanwhile, Sarah Bird, author of Love Letter to Texas Women (University of Texas, 2016) was disinvited to the event after she was openly critical of the Texas legislature. Walter Betts, the president of the Texas Library Association, respects the decision of the authors. “I appreciate that Rick Riordan and other Texas authors boycotting the Texas state legislature’s Celebration of Authors event in support of transgender equality and dignity are following their convictions,” he says. "The American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Round Table supports those who stand up against discriminatory laws that aim to stop full inclusion of transgender individuals,” says Deb Sica, chair of the round table. “We thank author Rick Riordan for bringing attention to this legislation and his work in coalition to stop discriminatory measures for all GLBTQIA people." Ty Burns, who represents the children’s round table on the Texas Library Association’s Council, regrets that Riordan has chosen not to be recognized for his respected contributions to children's literature. He believes that the honor would “draw more recognition to the importance of children's literature.” However, Burns, who is also the chair of the 2017 Rainbow Book List for GLBTQ children's literature and the retired library director of the Clear Creek (TX) ISD, “respects Riordan’s right and freedom to let our government leaders [know] that they are trying to legislate discrimination against a group that is already marginalized greatly without this new law,” he says. In March 2016, similar legislation in North Carolina spurred 269 authors and illustrators of children’s literature to write an open letter to young readers in that state.