Transgender Bathroom Policies The Fight Continues

Transgender Bathroom Policies The Fight Continues pixabay.com For many, this poses either a threat (they’re concerned that opening up bathroom issues will mean that sexual predators will take advantage) or comfort (they aren’t comfortable sharing a bathroom with someone they don’t understand/identify with). While the arguments are hardly valid (as the tables could just as easily be turned in saying that transgender people are using bathrooms with people they can’t identify with or that sexual predators weren’t going to be stopped by a little blue or pink sign anyway), the issue is still being fought on both sides. The judge in Texas granted the state a preliminary injunction (including a few other states as well) that challenges the Obama administration’s interpretation of Title IX. For those that aren’t familiar with it, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in schools, colleges and universities. While the administration interprets this to include gender identity discrimination, the judge in Texas disagrees. Judge Reed O’Connor, the judge that issued the ruling, is from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He issued the ruling late on Sunday night, just before the school year began for many Texas students. Immediately, LGBT supporters were let down. The LGBT rights supporters claim that this issue was only going to be helped through the administration’s interjection, but right now, things aren’t looking up. According to O’Connor: “This case presents the difficult issue of balancing the protection of students’ rights and that of personal privacy when using school bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and other intimate facilities, while ensuring that no student is unnecessarily marginalized while attending school.” So why did he grant the injunction? According to him, it was because Title IX’s text “is not ambiguous.” Essentially, he is saying that there isn’t any room for interpretation. According to him, the law, “specifically permits educational institutions to provide separate toilets, locker rooms, and showers based on sex, provided that the separate facilities are comparable.” And last May, the Obama administration did some interpreting. They issued a guidance that instructed public schools that “schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s sex, including a student’s transgender status.” According to the administration, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice “treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex for purposes of the law.” Really, this doesn’t seem to be a big deal, especially since there really aren’t many transgender students to begin with. According to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, “There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex.” However, on the opposing end, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (the man who led the charge against the administration), said in a statement: “We are pleased that the court ruled against the Obama administration’s latest illegal federal overreach. This President is attempting to rewrite the laws enacted by the elected representatives of the people, and is threatening to take away federal funding from schools to force them to conform. That cannot be allowed to continue, which is why we took action to protect States and School Districts, who are charged under state law to establish a safe and disciplined environment conducive to student learning.” According to Justice Department spokesperson, Dena Iverson, “the department is disappointed in the court’s decision, and we are reviewing our options. And the department is not the only one that disagrees with the ruling. Civil Rights Groups, feminists and liberals almost universally agree this is an unfortunate ruling. According to Lambda Legal, the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, “a ruling by a single judge in one circuit cannot and does not undo the years of clear legal precedent nationwide establishing that transgender students have the right to go to school without being singled out for discrimination.” The issue is a huge let down for individuals that refer to themselves as the “minority.” But again, this has only been one ruling, and the President is working hard to leave behind a legacy of acceptance and peace. So you can bet this isn’t the last Texas will be hearing of the bathroom issue.