Supreme Court Rejects Virginia School’s Appeal in Transgender Bathroom Case
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Virginia school district’s appeal in a case involving a former female to male transgender high school student who sued the school for the rights to use boys’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
The student involved in the case, Gavin Grimm, celebrated the victory on Monday, The Christian Post reports.
“Too many people played integral roles in our success and too many people who loved me so much,” Grimm tweeted. “I have nothing more to say but thank you, thank you, thank you. Honored to have been part of this victory.”
There are just too many people to tag. Too many people played integral roles in our success and too many people who loved me so much. I have nothing more to say but thank you, thank you, thank you. Honored to have been part of this victory.
— Gavin Grimm 🏳️⚧️ (@GavinGrimmVA) June 28, 2021
Representing Grimm was the American Civil Liberties Union, who likewise celebrated the legal victory.
“This is the third time in recent years that the Supreme Court has allowed appeals court decisions in support of transgender students to stand,” Josh Block, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, said in an email statement.
“This is an incredible victory for Gavin and for transgender students around the country,” he continued. “Our work is not yet done, and the ACLU is continuing to fight against anti-trans laws targeting trans youth in states around the country.”
Grimm previously filed a lawsuit against Gloucester County Public Schools in 2015. At the time, Grimm claimed that trans-identifying students were being denied the use of bathrooms and changing areas that corresponded to their gender identity. He argued that this was a violation of Title IX.
In response, the school tried to accommodate Grimm by building single-use, gender-neutral restrooms at its campus so any student can use those restrooms.
In September 2015, however, U.S. District Court Judge Robert G. Doumar, a Ronald Reagan appointee, ruled against Grimm. Yet the decision was overturned in April 2016 by a three-judge Fourth Circuit panel, with the majority arguing that “Title IX requires schools to provide transgender students access to restrooms congruent with their gender identity.”
In August 2016, the Supreme Court put a stay on the panel decision, which remanded the case to the Fourth Circuit and later back to the district court in 2017.
Last August, a three-judge Fourth Circuit panel again ruled in favor of Grimm in a 2-1 decision. According to the majority, they were joining “a growing consensus of courts” in concluding that “equal protection and Title IX can protect transgender students from school bathroom policies that prohibit them from affirming their gender.”
Photo courtesy: Christopher Ryan/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
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