Vital legal argument dismissed in trans school restroom lawsuit
A transgender high school student is fighting for his right to use the boys restroom, but the US judge will not accept Title IX as an argument.
Virgina student Gavin Grimm is suing for the ability to use the restroom after being denied entry to the boys toilet.
He said, according to BuzzFeed: “I’m a boy. I’m not a girl. I am not unisex.
“I use the male restroom in every other public facility, and it has never been a problem for me.”
On Monday, his lawyer Joshua Block disputes that Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, which outlaws sex discrimination, has been violated.
An attorney from the US Department of Justice had travelled to speak on Mr Grimm’s behalf as well about the anti-discrimination legislation.
The department had specifically submitted a statement of interest and a letter of the Department of Education’s support for Gavin Grimm’s lawsuit.
However, the 84-year-old judge refused to permit Title IX as an argument, saying: “Your case in Title IX is gone, by the way.
“I have chosen to dismiss Title IX. I decided that before we started.”
US District Court Judge Robert Doumar stated that he was defending the privacy of students and segregation according to biological sex.
He said: “I have no problem with transgender. I have a lot of problems with sex.
“I am convinced he is a biological female who wants to be a male.”
When the issue of an injunction to use the boys toilets during the trial was discussed, the judge said he could not see “irreparable harm” by denying it.
Gavin Grimm has explained that he is the only transgender student out of the closet in his district.
In December, the local school board approved a resolution for several gender-neutral restrooms, but barred students from using toilets that do not match their birth sex.
Grimm has expressed that he feels stigmatized using the gender-neutral bathrooms and, after complaining to the board, he took the controversy to court.
His mother, Dierdre Grimm, has supported him throughout the process.
Recently, a lot of debate has occurred over the extent of protection that Title IX gives, particularly to American LGBT students.
With prejudiced incidents, like the Colorado high school valedictorian kept from coming out publicly at graduation, many- like Senator Al Franken– have pressed for more expansive legislature to be passed.
Appointed during President Reagan’s era, Judge Doumar has likened being transgender to a “mental disorder”, but taunted a lawyer during trail, inquiring where he received his medical degree.
Throughout the trail, Judge Doumar cut off the attorneys’ debate several times in the courtroom to rant about the future of the country, which “scares” him.
While the judge permitted Grimm’s case for constitutional equality, he said the following trials will be an “uphill battle”.
