States Shouldn’t Determine Civil Rights

Reversal of Transgender Bathroom Laws Wrong

Jessica Jordan

Since Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States, he and his supporters have taken strong stances on many social issues. Alongside his views on abortion, women and women’s rights, he has now taken a public stance on the bathrooms that transgender students should be allowed to use in schools.

In May, president Barack Obama’s administration publicized Title IX that protected the rights of transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room that he or she identifies with. Then on Feb. 22, president Trump’s administration overturned that decision and gave states the discretion to determine which bathroom a student is allowed to use in their school.

Allowing states to make these decisions is really not solving any issues. Trump said that this is not an issue to be dealt with at the federal level. But civil rights are issues to be dealt with at a federal level. Someone who identifies as a female and looks or dresses like a female, or vice versa, would feel more comfortable in the restroom that she identifies with. The other people using the restroom may feel more comfortable as well, since that is drastically different than forcing someone who identifies as the opposite gender to use the bathroom they aren’t comfortable with.

A main argument of those who oppose transgendered people using the bathroom of the gender with which they identify is the possibility that someone could “pretend” that they have transitioned for the purpose of “peeping,” according to the Huffington Post.

The problem with this is that criminals who have these intentions are not following the law anyway, and there are already laws in place that prevent these things from happening without preventing transgender people from using the restroom they identify with.

While there may not necessarily be an issue of “peeping” in schools, many still believe that students will be unsafe due to the freedom for transgendered students to use the bathroom they identify with.

If someone is forced to use the bathroom that they don’t identify with, more problems are being caused than could ever be solved with a few laws.