Here is why Laverne Cox told everyone at the Grammys to google Gavin Grimm
Trans actress Laverne Cox urged people to look up Gavin Grimm at the Grammys last night – and here’s everything you need to know.
The Orange is the New Black actress made the comment at the music awards show, while introducing a performance by Lady Gaga and Metallica.
Taking to the stage, she urged people: “Everyone, please Google Gavin Grimm. He’s going to the Supreme Court in March. Hashtag #StandwithGavin”.
The comments were a reference to Virginian transgender teen Gavin Grimm, whose school ordered him to use a toilet that correspond with his “biological gender”.
Grimm sued the Gloucester County School Board with help from the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing that the policy infringed against the rights of trans people.
After a protracted court battle, his case is set to be heard by the Supreme Court – and is expected to set precedent on legal protections for trans people.
Speaking out about his case, Gavin said: “I realise now this is much bigger than myself. And my greater goal now is to try to make things better for those who come after me.”
The ACLU explained: “We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will agree that excluding transgender students from using the common restrooms used by everyone else is sex discrimination and that it’s wrong.
“Gavin’s case, and the so-called restroom debates more broadly, are about much more than just restrooms.
“This is a chance for the country to get to know our transgender family, friends, colleagues, and community members. This case will put Gavin’s story before the public and the justices who will be deciding what equality for transgender people means.
“What should become clear is that restroom restrictions bar transgender people from full participation in public life by making it challenging or even impossible to go to work, to school, to the movies, or a restaurant. And that letting transgender people use the restroom doesn’t intrude on anyone else’s privacy or safety. Gavin — and so many other transgender people all across the country — are living proof of that reality.
“Now that the court has accepted this case, the restroom issue, which has been percolating in national discussions for years, has a face: Gavin Grimm.
“We are so grateful to Gavin for the strength he has shown in standing up for himself and others as well as for the bravery of transgender people all across the country who are fighting to ensure that the type of dehumanizing treatment that Gavin endured doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
