Trump Administration Wants to Do Away with Transgender Bathroom Directive

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Feb 22, 2017

Trump Administration Wants to Do Away with Transgender Bathroom Directive

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that the White House is working to repeal the guidelines that allow students to choose school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

Spicer didn’t detail the new guidelines, but said Trump wanted states to decide the issue, rather than the federal government.

“I think that all you have to do is look at what the president's view has been for a long time, that this is not something the federal government should be involved in, this is a states' rights issue," Spicer said.

According to a draft of a letter to be released to the country’s schools, the White House is planning to undo the directive that allows transgender students their choice of restrooms and their choice of school athletics department (girls or boys).

The letter says that the Obama-era directive has led to “significant litigation” as parents, students and administrators have “struggled” to understand the guidelines.

Finally, the letter says that the undoing of the directive would “not diminish the protections” on all students.

But Vanita Gupta, former head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under Obama, said the changes were more harmful to students.

"To cloak this in federalism ignores the vital and historic role that federal law plays in ensuring that all children, (including LGBT students) are able to attend school free from discrimination," Gupta said in a statement.

 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: February 22, 2017



Trump Administration Wants to Do Away with Transgender Bathroom Directive