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Transgender Tag

The Supreme Court has made it official that next year, for the first time in its history, it will hear a case involving a transgender person's right to use a bathroom that corresponds with his "gender identity" while at school. To briefly summarize, Gavin Grimm (or GG as he is referred to in court documents) is a transgender male. This means that the sex  at birth was female, but he identifies as male. According to court documents, Grimm “lives all aspects of his life as a boy” but has not had sex reassignment surgery. Prior to the start of his sophomore year of high school, Grimm and his mother informed the Gloucester County School Board that he was a transgender boy. By all accounts the Board was exceedingly accommodating. For about seven weeks (and with his school’s permission), Grimm utilized the boys’ room without incident. Eventually, however, students took note of the fact that Grimm was a transgender boy, and some were less than comfortable with the arrangement.

In May, Texas and 12 other states filed suit against the Obama administration when it issued a transgendered bathroom policy across the nation in public schools. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor put a freeze on the policy in August when he found the "administration did not follow proper procedures for notice and comment in issuing the guidelines." Well, today, Judge O'Connor rejected the "administration's request to narrow a nationwide injunction banning enforcement" of the policy." He made a few changes to his original ruling, but now the Department of Education cannot "bring new cases enforcing transgender students' access" to these "intimate facilities."

A professor at the University of Toronto recently spoke out against the use of genderless pronouns like "ze," angering left wing students in the process. People held a rally on campus to defend the professor and free speech, but campus activists showed up and intimidated people. They also used a "white noise" machine to drown out speakers. Now the activists are claiming they were the ones who were attacked. The College Fix reported:
Transgender activists attack free speech rally to defend professor who won’t say ‘ze’ Students at the University of Toronto say their student government is fabricating hate crimes, while ignoring attacks made on free speech advocates at an event last week.

The Department of Justice has released a transgender training video for police, giving them guidance on how to handle situations they may come across with transgender people. The DOJ said:
“Transgender Americans, like all Americans, deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect by law enforcement officers,” said Acting Director Paul Monteiro of CRS [DOJ Community Relations Service]. “The information provided in this video will help strengthen the relationship between police and the transgender community, allowing for more effective investigations and safer encounters for officers and citizens alike.”

In May, Texas, joined by twelve other states filed suit against the Obama Administration who'd recently issued a national transgendered bathroom use policy for publicly funded schools. A mixed bag of states joined Texas in legal action, those states included: Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona's Department of Education, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Utah, and Georgia. “This represents just the latest example of the current administration’s attempts to accomplish by executive fiat what they couldn’t accomplish through the democratic process in Congress," said Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. Late Sunday, a federal judge granted the temporary injunction. Reuters reports:

The Pentagon is preparing to announce a lift of the ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military on July 1st. The left will undoubtedly hail this as a sign of progress but it turns years of policy on its head and raises a host of issues. Will transgender troops be allowed to choose which barracks they live in? Which bathrooms will they use? These may sound like trivial questions but military life doesn't afford much privacy. USA Today reports:
Ban on transgender troops to be lifted July 1 The Pentagon plans to announce the repeal of its ban on transgender service members July 1, a controversial decision that would end nearly a year of internal wrangling among the services on how to allow those troops to serve openly, according to Defense officials.

The gender equality movement has officially come full circle and is now consuming itself in the most glorious of fashions. From demanding equal rights to assuring us there's zero difference between men and women and now, men are beating women at their own games. For the first time in Alaska's recorded history, a guy competed in a the girls state championships. And he won. Peter Hasson writes for the Daily Caller:

A male used the female dressing room at a Ross department store in Mesquite, TX, leaving one woman shocked, especially when the manager pushed aside her feelings and concerns. Customer Lisa Stickles spoke with CBS DFW [emphasis mine]:
“I was in the dressing room, when we heard a man’s voice,” said Lisa Stickles, who says she quickly told a manager. “She went inside the dressing room, came right back out and called me to the side and told me… he was representing himself as a woman today,” Stickles said. A customer service representative with Ross would not comment on the alleged incident but said they do not discriminate against the transgender community; adding, customers may use changing rooms that apply to their gender identity. “What about me? Or my feelings?” said Sickles. “(The manager) told me that if I felt uncomfortable in the dressing room with him there… I’d have to wait until he’s finished.”

I opposed Loretta Lynch's nomination to be Attorney General because I found her congressional testimony lacking on fighting the politicization of the federal prosecutorial function that was the hallmark of Eric Holder. I was concerned that by confirming Lynch, we would be elevating someone who would not resist the urge to impose political views in the guise of law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion. Not being Eric Holder is not enough – vote No on Loretta Lynch
It pains me to come to the conclusion that Loretta Lynch should not be confirmed as our next Attorney General. As I wrote before, Lynch was a law school classmate. While we were not “friends,” we were acquaintances. I have only good memories of her, and it does not surprise me that she has accomplished so much.... Holder leaves behind a tattered and disgraceful legacy that will take a strong new Attorney General to clean up. Lynch could have been that person to clean up Holder’s mess and put the DOJ back on the non-political path....

Donald Trump was asked on the Today Show which bathroom at Trump Tower Caitlyn Jenner should use. Trump didn't limit himself to Caitlyn, and broadly proposed that businesses would be discriminating if they provide a separate (presumably non-gendered) bathroom. Trump also complained that a separate bathroom would be too expensive for businesses. https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/723125136170213376 Here's the full question and answer: