The following is a Liberty Counsel press release:
Transgender Bathroom Case Goes to SCOTUS
Oct. 31, 1996
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday they will hear the appeal from the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia on the so-called transgender bathroom decision in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board. This is the first time that the Court will be addressing the question of whether laws protecting against sex discrimination in education are applicable to “gender identity.”
The student bringing the lawsuit, Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old high school senior, is a biological girl who now says she subjectively “identifies” as a “boy.” When Grimm began using the boys’ restroom, some parents complained. Then the school board adopted a policy requiring students to use either the restroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private, single-stall restroom.
The justices said they will hear the appeal sometime next year. The High Court’s order means that Grimm will not be able to use the boys’ bathroom in the meantime.
“It is ridiculous that the Supreme Court has to address whether a confused girl who wants to use the boys’ restroom should be treated as a boy,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The school district’s responsibility is to protect the safety of students from harmful situations. The federal law does not allow people to change their gender by fantasizing they are something other than reality. How the Supreme Court should rule is simple and obvious. The federal law does not allow persons to subjectively think, and therefore be treated, as the opposite of their biological sex. I have very little confidence in the Supreme Court to follow the plain rule of law. Who knows what a majority of the current justices will do because they often put their own personal ideology over the law,” said Staver.
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Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.