A former student of a Missouri school district who identifies as “transgender” is suing the district for forcing “her” to use the boys’ bathrooms or a single-stall bathroom.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU) is suing the Platte Country R-3 School District on behalf of the student, identified as “R.F.” (via NBC News):
The former student received detention twice for using the girls’ restroom, according to the lawsuit. She said a male classmate harassed her and threatened her with rape when she used the boys’ bathroom.
The lawsuit argues the school violated her rights by requiring her to use the bathroom that aligned with her sex assigned at birth or the school’s single-stall gender-neutral bathroom.
“Forcing transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their sex designated at birth is not only discrimination but dangerous and causes serious harm to Missouri’s youth,” said Gillian Wilcox, deputy director of litigation at the ACLU of Missouri, in a statement. “Both through the constitution and by statute the government, a school in this case, is prohibited from discriminating against the people it is supposed to protect on the basis of either their sex or disability.”
The school district superintendent, Jay Harris, reportedly said in a statement that “the District’s focus is, and has always been, providing a safe and caring environment for all students.”
Last month, the Kansas City Star reported that the ACLU and LGBTQ+ civil rights law firm Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court to stop restrictions on irreversible, experimental transgender care from going into effect. The legislation, S.B. 49, would protect children from these harmful procedures and treatments, which includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgeries.
Reportedly, three families of transgender children, medical providers, and several LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations are behind the lawsuit (via The Kansas City Star):
The law, which is set to take effect on Aug. 28, bans gender transition surgeries on minors and imposes a three-year moratorium on hormone therapy and puberty blockers unless the patients are already receiving the medications.
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The lawsuit alleges SB 49 violates the Missouri Constitution by discriminating against trans patients on the basis of sex and their trans status, and deprives parents of a fundamental right to seek medical care for their children. The new law also forces medical providers to choose between abandoning their patients or keeping their medical licenses, according to the suit.
Among the plaintiffs is the family of C.J., a 13-year-old trans boy who has expressed a male gender identity since kindergarten. C.J. is on puberty blockers and his family intends to initiate hormone therapy when he is 14. But the law, if it goes into effect, will prevent him from receiving hormones until he turns 18.
To date, over 20 states have passed legislation protecting women's spaces from "transgender" people. This includes women's sports and locker rooms, where women have been forced to compete with and share changing facilities with males.