Texas, other states to ask judge to halt Obama transgender policy

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. | Fri Aug 12, 2016 6:25am EDT

Texas, other states to ask judge to halt Obama transgender policy

By Jon Herskovitz | FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Texas and a dozen other states plan to ask a U.S. judge in Fort Worth on Friday to halt Obama administration recommendations regarding bathroom access for transgender students, arguing they are unlawful "radical changes" being foisted on the nation.

The U.S. Justice Department in legal filings said the policies are recommendations that do not have the force of law, and the plaintiffs, including 13 states led by Texas, have no standing to request an injunction to suspend them.

The U.S. government's directive, issued in May, said public schools must allow transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, as opposed to their birth gender, or face federal funding loss.

The policy added fuel to a national debate on transgender rights and enraged social conservatives who say federal civil rights protections encompass biological sex, not gender identity.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-texas-idUSKCN10N14D

[shenmue]

1. F*ck these people

[tonekat]

2. +1 on that!

Zika? Meh. Crappy education system? So? Transgenders keeping their dignity? End of the world!!!

[LeftRant]

3. 'Texas Runs A Totally Legal System For Beating Obama Again And Again'

When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced his latest lawsuit against the federal government, this time over health care coverage for transgender Americans, he sounded as if he had no choice.

“This is the thirteenth lawsuit I have been forced to bring against the Obama Administration’s continued threats on constitutional rights of Texans,” Paxton said in a Tuesday statement. The new legal action was filed two days after a federal judge, in a separate case, sided with the state and temporarily barred the federal government from instructing schools on how to implement transgender-inclusive policies.

One thing Paxton didn’t mention is that the state did have a choice in where the the new case was filed. Texas chose the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, the same judge who had just ruled in the state’s favor in the other transgender case.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-lawsuits-obama-ken-paxton_us_57bdcaf9e4b00c67eca1135a?