Transgender students have lost the automatic right to use bathrooms that match their gender identity after the Trump administration waded into the controversial issue by rescinding Obama-era directives.
The Department of Justice and Department of Education on Wednesday told schools to ignore two guidelines issued by the Obama administration which had ruled that federal laws banning discrimination in sports also applied to transgender students. The move marked the first time that the Trump administration had weighed in on the “culture wars” that underscore the deep social fissures across America.
Jeff Sessions, attorney-general, said the Obama-era directives “did not contain sufficient legal analysis or explain how the interpretation was consistent with the language” of the anti-discrimination laws. The justice and education departments said they had “given rise to significant litigation regarding school restrooms and locker rooms” and that states and school districts had the “primary role” in establishing education policy.
The move was attacked by Democrats and human rights group, but was welcomed by cultural conservatives including some who worry that President Donald Trump is more of a New York east coast liberal.
“This move is good for parents and good for families,” said Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. “Children are not pawns of the state to be used to advance the latest fashionable ‘right side of history’ cause.”
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate, said the move would reverse progress made furthering equality, adding that the issue should not be determined by individual states.
“The federal government has an obligation to protect the rights of every citizen, and shirking that responsibility allows states to step in and discriminate,” said Mr Schumer. “This decision . . . is just plain wrong and cuts directly across the American drive and yearning for equality.”
The Trump administration rejected concerns that the move would spark discrimination, saying “schools must ensure that all students, including LGBT students, are able to learn and thrive in a safe environment”.
The “bathroom debate” came into national focus last year when North Carolina passed legislation forcing transgender people to use bathrooms that match their anatomical gender. During the presidential campaign, Mr Trump appeared to straddle both sides of the argument. He suggested that transgender people could use whichever bathroom they wanted at Trump Tower in New York, but then also vowed to leave the issue to states to decide – a position that he adhered to with the decision on Wednesday.
The Trump administration moved forward with the effort on the day that Republicans opened the Conservative Political Action Conference, a three-day event that will see Mr Trump and Vice-president Mike Pence address audiences of conservatives from across the US.
The rescinding of the Obama-era guidelines also sparked attacks on Mr Pence, who as governor of Indiana became the subject of intense criticism over his ultimately unsuccessful efforts to restrict gay rights by allowing businesses to refuse to serve customers who were in same-sex relationships.
“If anyone was wondering what Mike Pence was like as Gov of IN, tonight’s news about the transgender community has him written all over it,” tweeted John Zody, the chairman of the Democratic party in Indiana.
Wednesday’s move comes one month after Mr Trump assumed office. It also comes as his administration is working on a new executive order to replace a controversial measure, which was blocked by the courts, to ban citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US. His administration has been mired in chaos because of infighting and battles over top appointments in government agencies.
