Trans- Accommodations
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, May 27, 2016 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
Never would I have believed there would be riots in the State of North Carolina because boys can’t use the girls’ restroom, nor would I have thought a 52-year-old husband and father of seven children would decide he’s a six-year-old trans-female wearing little girls’ clothing. Likewise, I would not have believed he would have been “adopted” by a “mummy and daddy” who have children and grandchildren of their own. But that’s what he said in a television interview.
The Psychiatric Association Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Clients states, “Gender refers to attitudes, feelings, and behaviors,” which is certainly evident in current events. Facebook lists 58 gender identities to choose from and is willing to add more.
Because North Carolina says schools should use birth-certificate identity to determine which restrooms students use, the City of Atlanta and some states won’t allow government employees to go to North Carolina on business any more.
With a two-to-one vote, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned centuries of privacy law by defining “sex” to mean “gender.” The court based that decision on a 2015 letter from the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to a trans-male (female to male) student at Gloucester High School.In his dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge Niemeyer explained his NO vote by saying: “Strikingly, the majority … reverses the district court’s ruling, without any supporting case law, and concludes that when Title IX and its regulations provide for separate living facilities, restrooms, locker rooms, and shower facilities on the basis of sex … the term ‘sex’ means a person’s gender identity, NOT the person’s biological status as male or female. … [F]or the first time ever … a public high school may NOT provide separate restrooms and locker rooms on the basis of biological sex … [they] must NOW allow a biological male student who identifies as female to use the girls’ restrooms and locker rooms [and vice versa … completely trampling on] universally accepted protections of privacy and safety … [that are] based on … anatomical differences between the sexes.”
And by the way, to accommodate the student, the Virginia school board DID comply with Title IX by requiring students to use restrooms based on their biological sex, or allowing them to use any of three gender-neutral, individual-user facilities the school created for transgender students. The Gloucester High transgender student sought an injunction against the school’s new policy, but didn’t get it. The court ruled that the new school policy must be obeyed while the case is back in district court for reconsideration of the district court’s decision to dismiss G.G.’s claim of discrimination based on Title IX. Meaning, this is not over, yet. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.