Texas and 12 other states are expected to ask a U.S Judge in Fort Worth to halt the Obama administration’s guidelines regarding transgender restroom access on Friday.
“Plaintiffs have identified no enforcement action threatened or taken against them as a result of defendants’ interpretations, nor have they established that the guidance documents have any binding legal effect.”
The group claims the guidelines are unlawful and that they impose “radical changes” on the nation as a whole. The U.S. Justice Department has countered with filings stating the policies are recommendations that do not have the force of law, and the plaintiffs have no grounds to request an injunction to suspend them.
Joining Texas, who is leading the move, is Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, West Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Utah.
The guidelines, which were issued in May 2016, state that transgender students should be allowed to use the facilities that correspond with their gender identity, which includes restrooms, dorms and sports venues. According to Reuters, the U.S. Justice Department issued the following statement regarding its filings on Friday, “Plaintiffs have identified no enforcement action threatened or taken against them as a result of defendants’ interpretations, nor have they established that the guidance documents have any binding legal effect.”
Just last week, the Supreme Court voted to temporarily block an order that would have allowed Gavin Grimm, a transgender student in Virginia, access to the boy’s restroom in Gloucester County. That move came with a deciding courtesy vote by Justice Stephen Breyer, which allowed the Justices to take summer vacation without having to hear the case, ultimately kicking it down the road until the fall and possibly until after the November election. The group led by Texas is hoping for the same outcome with Friday’s filing.
