Judge issues injunction against
Pennsylvania district in transgender case
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[February 28, 2017]
(Reuters) - Three transgender high
school students in suburban Pittsburgh can use bathrooms that match
their gender identity as their federal case against their school
district proceeds in court, a judge ruled on Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Hornak ordered the Pine-Richland School
District to stop enforcing a rule adopted in September for students to
use facilities corresponding to their biological sex or unisex
facilities, court documents showed.
The ruling comes five days after President Donald Trump's administration
revoked landmark guidance to public schools allowing transgender
students to use bathrooms of their choice, reversing a signature
initiative of former Democratic President Barack Obama.
The high school seniors - Juliet Evancho, Elissa Ridenour and a
transgender boy, referred to only as A.S. - filed a federal lawsuit in
October, saying the district's policy was unconstitutional and
discriminated against them.
"This is wonderful news and a tremendous relief that we can now use the
bathroom without feeling isolated and humiliated," Ridenour said in a
statement after the ruling.
Hornak granted a preliminary injunction against the district, saying the
three had demonstrated a likelihood of success for their claim that it
violated their constitutionally-guaranteed rights of equal protection,
court documents showed.
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The students "appear to the court to be young people seeking to do
what young people try to do every day - go to school, obtain an
education, and interact as equals with their peers," Hornak, a judge
of the Western District of Pennsylvania, wrote in his 48-page
opinion.
Similar legal battles are being fought across the country as school
officials and lawmakers debate whether transgender people should be
allowed use of facilities that correspond with their gender identity
rather than their birth sex.
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Juliet Evancho is the sister of Jackie Evancho, who sang the U.S.
national anthem at Trump's inauguration in January, and weighed in
on his decision last week, making a request on social network
Twitter to meet the president.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
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