Federal
Judge Upholds Injunction Against Obama’s Transgender School Policy, "The president cannot rewrite the laws ..." by Scott
Mason, 10/21/16
A federal judge has stopped President Obama’s policy forcing public schools to allow
students claiming to be transgender into bathrooms that do not correspond with
the gender on their birth certificates.
U.S. District Court Judge Reed
O’Connor rejected the Obama administration’s request to lift an injunction
against the Department of Education’s transgender bathroom policy. The injunction was originally issued
in August in response to a challenge to the policy by 13 state attorneys
general.
The Justice Department requested the
injunction be limited to the 13 states who objected, but this week O’Connor
issued his ruling against that.
“It is clear from Supreme Court and
Fifth Circuit precedent that this Court has the power to issue a nationwide
injunction where appropriate. Both Title IX and Title VII rely on the
consistent, uniform application of national standards in education and
workplace policy,” O’Connor said in his ruling. “A geographically-limited injunction
would be ineffective.”
O’Connor’s ruling also suggested the
idea of making students use the bathroom corresponding with their biological
gender doesn’t fall under the definition of discrimination, saying the
government should continue to address issues of discrimination on the
basis of race, national origin or disability, but it cannot consider the
definition of “sex” as it relates to gender identity for the use of bathrooms
or changing facilities.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,
who represented one of the 13 states objecting to the Department of Education’s
transgender policy, was happy with O’Connor’s decision.
“The court’s reaffirmation of a
nationwide injunction should send a clear message to the president that Texas
won’t sit idly by as he continues to ignore the Constitution,” Paxton wrote in
a statement.
“The president cannot rewrite the
laws enacted by the elected representatives of the people and then threaten to
take away funding from schools to force them to fall in line.” The issue of transgender use of
opposite sex restrooms has been a hot-button topic and the subject of much
disagreement in the court system.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Virginia ruled the Obama transgender school mandate was constitutional and
issued an injunction allowing Caitlyn Grimm, a transgender girl who changed her
name to Gavin, to use the boys’ facilities.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily
stayed that injunction. The Justice Department
says it will appeal O’Connor’s decision to the Fifth Circuit Court in
New Orleans.
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http://www.westernjournalism.com/federal-judge-upholds-injunction-against-obamas-transgender-school-policy/
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