NEW YORK — Texas and ten other states have announced legal action against the Obama administration following the release of guidance on how schools treat transgender students.
Rebecca L. Robertson, legal and policy director of the ACLU of Texas, had the following reaction:
“This lawsuit is an attack by the Attorney General on transgender Texans, plain and simple. While General Paxton sued the Obama administration, the real targets are vulnerable young people and adults who simply seek to live their lives free from discrimination when they go to school, work or the restroom.
“There have been no disruptions, increases in public safety incidents, nor invasions of privacy related to protections for transgender people. The federal agencies named in this lawsuit have not changed existing obligations under the law. Our civil rights laws, including Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, have long prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, and federal courts and agencies have long recognized that this includes protections for transgender people.
“The Supreme Court has made clear that one cannot sue an agency just because you disagree with the agency’s guidance. If Ken Paxton disagrees with the agency’s interpretation of what the federal ban on sex discrimination means, he can make that argument to the court when it arises in a real case. This lawsuit is nothing but a political stunt.”