Late Sunday, a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom directive, just in time for the state’s first day of school on Monday. The President has said that transgender students should be allowed to use the bathroom and locker room of their choosing, rather than the one that matches the gender they were assigned at birth. The measure’s unanimously supported by LGBTQ advocates, who feel it’s not only a show of compassion, but also a good move for student safety.
So, what’s US District Judge Reed O’Connor argument for blocking it? Federal overreach, and…wait for it…Title IX, the law enacted to stop gender discrimination in schools and activities. His legal interpretation of the law is that since Title IX stipulates “facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex,” that means that the sexes are binary and MUST be separate.
For the most part, the people of the Internet are mad about this.
Heartbroken by Texas judge’s decision to halt the rights of trans youth from using their indentity’s bathroom
Ignorance like this is fatal.
— Cole Ledford (@ColeLedford11) August 22, 2016
A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Obama’s directive on transgender student bathroom use. ? #transgender #wejustneedtopee
— Kris Young (@AutTransKing) August 22, 2016
Others have pointed out that this issue should perhaps not be Texas’ first educational priority.
Maybe a Judge in Texas should enforce reading laws before delving into bathroom legislation. pic.twitter.com/uAd2haa5jY
— PoliticalGroove (@PoliticalGroove) August 22, 2016
Though this court’s decision is unlikely to hold, it was only one of a number of setbacks for transgender rights surfacing in the federal courts this month. And with the presidential debates coming up, it’s surely to be back in the news soon. The issue’s far from resolved.
Via Wired