Eleven states sue US government over transgender bathroom policy

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Eleven US states sued the Obama administration on Wednesday, seeking to overturn a directive from the federal government this month that public schools should allow transgender students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.

Ramping up the culture wars in America, the states, led by Texas, accused the federal government of rewriting laws by “administrative fiat”.

“Defendants have conspired to turn workplace and educational settings across the country into laboratories for a massive social experiment, flouting the democratic process, and running roughshod over commonsense policies protecting children and basic privacy rights,” the lawsuit stated.

Nine of the 11 states are led by Republican governors.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/25/eleven-states-sue-us-government-transgender-bathroom-laws

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Reuters
Wednesday 25 May 2016 19.56 BST

[cynzke]

1. FOR ALL THE STUPID PEOPLE.....

Obama is just following the law. A law that has been in force for FORTY-THREE YEARS. DUH!

"transgender people are currently protected by federal law. They are protected in their use of gender-conforming bathrooms in schools by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972" . That's right folks, 1972! But by all means waste tax payer money filing these BASELESS suits.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/04/13/north-carolina-transgender-bathroom-law-discrimination-lgbt-column/82872840/

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Common Sense?

Common sense is to just let people use the facilities they want to use.

Transgenders won't be safe in the opposite sex bathroom.

No one needs self-appointed hetero bathroom police sorting out the public
and directing traffic

Deviants who would use bathroom policy to gain criminal access won't be deterred
by public policy, and statistically they are very few if any

I wonder if this is just a manufactured culture war issue that also allows these
dominant folks who believe themselves to be superior to have control and importance
over the public

[Person 2713]

3. Yes something new every year in the cultural war . They are really running out of drama / fear

with this one....why the manufactured horror all of a sudden on something no one really cared about before? Or most don't now?

[hibbing]

4. As we all know, it's not about the bathroom n/t

[Moostache]

5. So, its "obvious" here? (All of the bigots I have heard claim this is just easy, common-sense)...

I just want them to honestly appraise these individuals, recognize that in passing in a public facility they would have next to no chance of even knowing a transgendered individual was in there with them!!!

Unless they are doing some genitalia inspecting from over or under a stall like the perverts they are...which is already an illegal act in most places!

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Or any of these: http://www.wonderslist.com/10-fierce-transgender-models/

The likelihood of any trouble is far more likely from the bigots and control freak males promoting it than from any transgendered person starting a fight or fracas in a public restroom. These folks have been using the restrooms of their outward representation and sexual identification forever.

Number of times I have read about a transgendered person making illegal advances on a cisgendered person? ZERO....ever!
Number of times I have read about creepy X-tians in Target stores making a scene and screaming? THREE....last week!!!

Passing practically unenforceable (how the hell is anyone going to GUARANTEE that someone is illegally using a bathroom stall??? kick in the door and demand a visual inspection? require a birth certificate for bathroom entry? photographic proof sufficient or do I have to snap a selfie of the little captain every time he wants to cry into the porcelain boat?) - but these moron laws certainly are bigot enabling and encouraging these kind of laws (illegal abortions of any kind is another...suggestions that miscarriages would be investigated as homocides????? REALLY!!!????!!!!) is a hallmark of modern conservatives, but even for them, this is a solution in search of a problem.

[askeptic]

6. It should be dismissed with prejudice. 4th Circuit already ruled

Last edited Wed May 25, 2016, 08:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Oh sure - very slightly different. It demonstrates how irrational and authoritarian this element of the republican party has become. Oppression of human rights at every turn. What a sad excuse of a party. It is really sad to think of the numbers of clueless, self-righteous nuts it takes to keep the republicans going in these directions. Trying to use religion as a club.

These states deserve to have their asses served to them on a platter. Sometimes I am so ashamed of my country...

from the ACLU:

April 19, 2016

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal court of appeals today ruled in favor of transgender male student Gavin Grimm in his challenge to Gloucester High School’s discriminatory restroom policy that segregates transgender students from their peers by requiring them to use “alternative, private” facilities.

The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit marks the first time that a federal appeals court has determined that Title IX protects the rights of transgender students to use sex segregated facilities that are consistent with their gender identity. The Fourth Circuit sent the case back to the district court to reevaluate Gavin’s request for a preliminary injunction under the proper legal standard. (i.e. Title 9 - not equal protection)

Addendum:
Aside from the plain language of Title IX itself, it is curious to me that almost all the stories I read on this continue to leave out the 4th Circuit's decision - which applies to NC as well as Virginia. It's like they want to add more drama and make the case seem somewhat reasonable, rather than to expose the complete stupidity and laughable grounds of the case that simply re-iterating the 4th's decision in the story or even the title - Despite 4th Circuit decision, 11 states sue Obama admin. - would do.

[Skittles]

7. "led by Texas"

that about says it all

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Sadly, Oklahoma is one of them.

More of our tax dollars getting flushed down the john. Seems the only people allowed in the bathroom are self-appointed monitors and tax payers hard earned money, which just gets a one-way trip down the crapper! Falin is hell bound determined to make us a failed state like Kansas, and this religious nutbar is now heading up the Republican party platform.

[GreatGazoo]

9. What do they propose for the 1.7% of the population who are born intersex?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex

I'm guessing they propose nothing since this push-back is just posturing and grandstanding in an election year

[bucolic_frolic]

10. If people must remain the same gender as they are born with

and therefore male transgenders must use the male bathroom

and therefore they are still male in public

that would mean it would be LEGAL for male transgenders to walk
around in public TOPLESS, wouldn't it? Even if they were on hormones
or had implants.

That would not seem to be what the Bathroom Police crowd are after?

[Blandocyte]

11. I son't care which bathroom you use. Just wash your fucking hands. n/t

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

13. About Maine on the lawsuit

See this article.

"LePage stands alone in signing on to the suit in his personal capacity, not as a representative of the state of Maine, where the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2014 that schools cannot discriminate against transgender students."

....

"Timothy Feeley, a spokesman for Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, said Maine law requires approval of the attorney general for anyone other than the attorney general to file an entry of appearance or represent the state in any legal matter.

“Our approval was not obtained in this case,” he said. “The governor apparently signed on in his personal capacity only. As a matter of law, the state of Maine is not a party to this lawsuit.”

"


http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/25/maine-among-11-states-suing-over-obamas-transgender-directive/

FYI, self-delete was just this post but I replied to the wrong post.