Despite a Remand, We Fight On For Trans Justice

The Supreme Court Got Rid of This Term’s Major Trans Rights Case but Nothing About the Law has Changed.

This morning the Supreme Court of the United States vacated and remanded the case of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., the major trans rights case it was scheduled to hear this term.

The case involves 17 year-old Gavin Grimm, a boy from Gloucester County, Virginia, whose School Board voted to bar him from using the boys’ restroom solely because he is transgender. After much of the briefing before the Court had been completed, the Court’s decision today means the case will no longer be heard on March 28 as previously scheduled. In fact, it will not be before the Court again this term and possibly not for another few years. It is a disappointing detour for Gavin and for trans young people across the country who continue to fight for their basic right to attend school without discrimination. After the Trump Education and Justice Departments’ announcement that they will no longer enforce Obama-era guidance on protections for transgender students under Title IX, trans youth are more precariously situated.

But neither today’s action by the Supreme Court nor the Trump ED/DOJ rescission of the guidance change the law. Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in educational institutions, and the Constitution of the United States continue to protect trans students from discrimination. We will not have our day in the high court this term but we will continue to fight in the lower courts. We will continue to fight in the streets. We will continue to build momentum like the momentum built last week with over 30 filings in support of Gavin at the Supreme Court.

Change comes through the relentless fight and leadership of those most affected by our cruel and discriminatory systems. When I was growing up, I did not even know it was possible to be trans. I had no idea that I could find peace in my body and in the world. Today, trans young people are leading our fights across the country.

To the trans young people who are scared and disappointed after today’s action, know that our resolve to fight with you only grows. You have already transformed the world and the law will continue to clarify the many rights you already enjoy. As always, no matter what happens in the courts, we take our fight to our communities each day. We fight for your right to exist, to be free, to be loved just as you are.

Onward.

#StandWithGavin