withholding funding for Texas schools for not following the directive, "he can keep his 30 pieces of silver [and that w]e will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States." In 2017, Patrick strongly advocated for a bathroom bill that would prohibit transgender students at public schools from using any restroom other than that of their biological sex. Patrick described the legislation as a "legislative priority." Patrick encouraged state Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham to introduce a bathroom bill similar to a previous law adopted in 2016 in North Carolina, and strongly pushed for it at its proposal on January 5, 2017. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, a moderate Republican, said that the measure is not an important matter for lower chamber.Bobby Cervantes, "Bathroom legislation now ready for debate: Bruising battle looms over transgender bill", San Antonio Express-News, January 6, 2016, pp. 1, A11 In April 2019, Patrick called Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke "light in the loafers", a slur often used to insinuate someone as gay, though O'Rourke is heterosexual. He also called O'Rourke a "moron." Patrick later stated that while he stood by his comments, the insinuation was unintentional. Voting rights In 2020, Patrick referred to vote-by-mail expansion efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic as a "scam by Democrats to steal the election." In 2021, Patrick presided over the passage of legislation in the Texas Senate that restricted voting rights, including prohibiting local boards from sending applications for mail-in ballots to voters. In 2022, Patrick's campaign sent out a mass mailing to Republican voters across Texas with inaccurate instructions on how to send requests for absentee ballots. The mailing included return envelopes that were addressed to the Texas secretary of state's address when they should have been to local election offices. Patrick's campaign defended the inaccurate instructions, saying it "gave voters an added layer of comfort" not to have to mail sent to "Blue County election officials." Cannabis In 2019, Patrick opposed a bill that would have decriminalized simple possession of cannabis in Texas. After the Texas House passed the bill, he announced that it was dead on arrival in the Senate. In 2021, during an interview, Patrick expressed that he was open to some medical cannabis changes, while he downplayed the more ambitious efforts. He said: "We're not gonna turn this into California where anybody can get a slip from a doctor