After the United States Supreme Court decided that same-sex marriage will be legal across the nation, the issue over transgender students on bathroom usage has become heated since the Obama administration issued a directive that such students should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.
A Virginia school board is then planning to ask the Supreme Court to execute a rule on the issue as they feel that the Obama administration went too far with their order. The order also threatened schools not allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms that do not correspond with their gender on their birth certificate and that they can no longer receive federal funding.
The school board argues that the guidance issued to the schools is an overreach of power and violates the privacy of students. The plan comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has granted the Gloucester County School Board's request to be put on hold on Tuesday.
The 4th Circuit also ruled last April that the transgender student identified as Gavin Grimm could continue his lawsuit against the aforementioned board as he is not allowed to use the boy's bathroom. He argued that the banning violates his civil rights, Arlington Patch reported.
A three-judge panel also sent the case back to a lower court and deferred the Obama administration's guidance over the matter. They said that they conclude the district court abused their discretion when they denied the request of Grimm for a preliminary injunction.
The national transgender bathroom controversy has erupted after North Carolina passed a bill over the matter. This has prevented local governments in the state from passing non-discrimination ordinances for the LGBT community.
A complaint was made against North Carolina by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the guidance from the Obama administration came last month.
Other states such as Missouri, Mississippi, and Massachusetts have considered similar bills such as that of North Carolina. North Carolina has been facing backlash as well as economic setbacks due to its bills. Major businesses like PayPal have cancelled their plans to expand to the state.
