The horrible advert aims to stop gay rights protections being introduced in Houston

The black and white advert shows a small girl walking into a bathroom, then the camera pans to show a man following her into the stall, as sinister music plays.

It was paid for by Campaign For Houston in an attempt to urge the public to elect local conservative candidates.

At the beginning of November, Houston voters repealed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, (HERO). This wide-ranging ordinance was designed to improve legal rights in terms of housing, employment and public accommodations for 15 classes, among them race, colour, disability, religion, age, military status, marital status and sexual orientation.

Opponents, many of whom are conservative Christians, focused on a reference to gender identity and depicted the law as a “bathroom ordinance”.

This advert, posted on YouTube is designed to ensure HERO is never introduced again and that Houston remains without any laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“We sent a message, and defeated the bathroom ordinance,” says the advert’s narrator. “But some politicians don’t respect our vote, and want to bring [HERO] up again. That’s why we need to support candidates in the December 12 runoff who will stand up for women’s privacy and safety.”

While urging voters to visit the Campaign for Houston’s website for a “sample ballot … to see which candidates we can trust to say no to men in women’s bathrooms.”

Several other major cities and counties in Texas have passed nondiscrimination ordinances, and HERO was initially approved by the Houston City Council.

But anti-HERO activists sued over the ordinance, and the Texas Supreme Court ruled in July that HERO appear on the November ballot or be revoked immediately.

Watch the horrible and misleading advert here: