Judge temporarily blocks Biden administration’s transgender bathroom rule

President Joe Biden’s proposed directive which would allow transgender workers and students to use the bathroom conducive to their gender identity has been blocked by Federal Judge Charles Atchley Jr.

A group of 20 Republican lawmakers took out a lawsuit against Biden’s directive and the judge agreed with him.

The Justice Department, the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are all listed as defendants on the lawsuit. They requested that Atchley dismiss the lawsuit. At this stage, none of the defendants have commented on the decision.

Atchley Jr. said in his reasoning that the states “cannot continue regulating pursuant to their state laws while simultaneously complying with Defendants’ guidance.”

John O’Connor, who is the Oklahoma Attorney General and also one of the plaintiffs, provided a written statement saying that Atchley’s decision “is a major women’s sports and for the privacy and safety of girls and women in their school bathrooms and locker rooms.”

Mary Miller (R-IL) praised the decision, saying: “Big News, a federal judge has blocked Biden’s efforts to force schools to allow men into the girls’ locker room and girls’ bathroom. This is a major win for our daughters!”

Matt Rosendale (R-MO) also spoke out in favour of the decision. “The blocked directive from the Biden administration by a federal judge is a major victory in protecting women’s sports and women’s safety and privacy in bathrooms/locker rooms. We must continue to call out this lunacy where we see it. #FollowTheScience,” Rosendale said on Twitter.

The Department of Education (DOE) previously stated in a press release that any discrimination based on a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity would violate Title IX. Title XI was passed in 1972 and it bans any form of discrimination in education against either sexuality or gender.

“The Department’s interpretation stems from the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, issued one year ago this week, in which the Supreme Court recognized that it is impossible to discriminate against a person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity without discriminating against that person based on sex,” the DOE said.