46.8 F
Spokane
Thursday, March 20, 2025
spot_img
HomeNewsMore states sue Obama administration over transgender bathroom policy

More states sue Obama administration over transgender bathroom policy

Date:

Related stories

200 attend rally at Thrive to show solidarity with Ukraine

Around 200 people gathered at Thrive Center for a rally supporting Ukraine, chanting, holding signs and hearing speakers call for freedom and unity.

Saint’s traveling monstrance inspires vocations in northern Idaho

A rare monstrance blessed by St. Pope John Paul II is touring Northern Idaho to inspire vocations and foster prayer for priesthood and religious life.

Spokane’s Home of Shalom brings worship to a coffee house atmosphere

This is what Tyler Kern’s Home of Shalom is based on: the idea that church is people, not a building.

What happens when Spokanites learn the art of everyday peacemaking?

Jer Swigart with Global Immersion will lead an Everyday Peacemaking Workshop at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church on March 29 to equip Spokanites for peacebuilding.

Religious Freedom vs. Health care Access: How Faith Influences Health Care in Washington and Idaho

The Idaho state Legislature is currently embroiled in an ideological battle on whether to allow health care professionals and entities to opt out of participating in nonemergency procedures that would violate their sincerely held moral and religious beliefs. 

Our Sponsors

spot_img

Ten states including Michigan, Ohio and Kansas sued the Obama administration on Friday, saying the federal government does not have the power to tell states that transgender people must be allowed to use public bathrooms that conform with their gender identity.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, took issue with a May 13 letter sent by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education to states. The letter warned that states could lose federal funding if they required transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex. The states argued that this was an attempt to rewrite federal civil rights laws that do not apply to transgender people.

Thirteen other states have brought a similar challenge in federal court in Texas.

Friday’s lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of the states, which also include Nebraska, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming.

“When a federal agency takes such unilateral action in an attempt to change the meaning of established law, it leaves state and local authorities with no other option than to pursue legal clarity in federal court,” Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a Republican, said in a statement.

The Obama administration’s letter said transgender people are protected by prohibitions on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies to employment, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which applies to federally funded schools. States collectively receive billions of dollars in federal education funding each year that can be taken away as a penalty for violating Title IX.

The case is Nebraska v. United States of America, U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, No. 4:16-cv-03117.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, N.Y.; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis)

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
spot_img
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x