U.S. judge blocks Obama transgender
school bathroom policy
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[August 23, 2016]
By Jon Herskovitz
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. judge
blocked an Obama administration policy that public schools should allow
transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice, granting a
nationwide injunction sought by 13 dissenting states just in time for
the new school year.
While a setback for transgender advocates, the ruling is only the latest
salvo in a larger legal and cultural battle over transgender rights that
could be headed toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
Following milestone achievements in gay rights including same-sex
marriage becoming legal nationwide in 2015, transgender rights have
become an increasingly contentious issue in the United States, with
advocates saying the law should afford them the same rights extended to
racial and religious minorities.
U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of
Texas, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, issued a
nationwide injunction siding with the 13 states and blocking the Obama
administration's bathroom guidelines on Sunday, the evening before
students in much of Texas and some of the other affected states were due
back in school.
O'Connor found the federal government failed to provide states with
sufficient notice and opportunity for comment before issuing the
guidelines. He also said the guidelines had the effect of law and
contradicted existing legislative and regulatory texts.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement it was disappointed
by the decision and was reviewing its options. Legal experts expected it
to appeal, likely asking to put O'Connor's ruling on hold until the case
could be litigated.
In May, the Justice and Education departments issued guidance that
public schools must allow transgender students to use bathrooms, locker
rooms and other intimate facilities of their choice rather than those
matching their gender assigned at birth. The Justice Department has
called the guidelines non-binding, saying they had no legal
consequences.
But they were also backed up by a threat to withhold federal education
money from states that refused to comply, drawing objections from 13
states, led by Texas, that sued.
Some conservatives have fought an expansion of transgender rights which
thy see as an attack on privacy and an example of federal government
overreach.
In test cases around the country, various lower courts have differed in
their interpretation on whether anti-discrimination laws apply to
transgender people, potentially sending the matter to the U.S. Supreme
Court for a definitive resolution.
O'Connor's ruling is "just one small part of an unfolding process," said
Aaron Bruhl, a professor at William & Mary Law School in Virginia.
"This won't be the last word on this subject, obviously," he said.
"There's a decent chance the U.S. Supreme Court could address this issue
in the near future."
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A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California,
Irvine in Irvine, California September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy
Nicholson/File Photo

Katherine Franke, a law professor at Columbia University, said it
was "shocking" that O'Connor had applied his injunction to the
entire nation, especially since "there's an opposite decision from
the 4th Circuit (Court of Appeals) and eight other lawsuits
pending."
'FEDERAL OVERREACH'
The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who
frequently sues the Democratic Obama administration, said he was
pleased with a decision against "illegal federal overreach."
But a group of five civil rights organizations supporting the Obama
policy said legal precedent protects transgender students from
discrimination, which a single judge cannot overturn.
"The court's misguided decision targets a small, vulnerable group of
young people - transgender elementary and high school students - for
potential continued harassment, stigma and abuse," said the five
groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda
Legal.
The judge's decision came about eight hours before Jennifer Campisi
took her 9-year-old son E.J., a transgender student, to the first
day of school in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. E.J. is not allowed to
use the boys' bathroom and instead must use either the nurse's
bathroom or a faculty bathroom.
"These policies just keep kids separate and they put unnecessary
stress on parents," she said, adding that allowing transgender
students to use the bathroom of their choice is the best solutions
for all.
Another mother, Alison Kelley, who has two children in the Fort
Worth Independent School District, said she opposed the Obama
guidelines and that local school authorities should decide what is
best case by case.

"I am not anti-transgender," Kelley said. "I am anti big government
getting into my backyard."
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Joseph Ax, Lawrence Hurley and Julia
Harte; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Bill Trott and Bill
Rigby)
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