Comment A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked enforcement of two Biden administration directives protecting LGBTQ people in schools and workplaces from discrimination, ruling in favor of 20 attorneys general who claimed in a lawsuit that the directive violates states’ rights. The move comes amid a wave of measures by conservatives to curtail LGBTQ rights that have alarmed liberal activists as the battle for transgender rights comes into the political spotlight. The two guidelines, which apply to educational institutions that receive federal funding and most employers, would have broad protections for transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms at school and work, and to participate in sports teams that match their gender identity. The states in question argued that the guidelines would put them at risk of losing significant federal funding because of their existing laws. “Defendants’ guidance directly interferes with and threatens Plaintiff States’ ability to continue to enforce their state laws,” U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley Jr. of the Eastern District of Tennessee wrote in his ruling. “Their sovereign authority to enforce their own legal code is impeded by the defendants’ issuance of guidance, and they face significant pressure to change their state laws as a result,” he added. The states represented by the attorneys general are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Western Virginia. All of these states have Republican-controlled legislatures, except for Alaska, where a bipartisan coalition runs the House of Representatives. The administration’s guidance, issued by the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), followed a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that said a civil rights provision called Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination because of gender, among other categories, includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The White House, the Department of Education and the EEOC did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s requests for comment. Education Department guidance from June 2021 said such discrimination would be treated as a violation of Title IX, a 1972 federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in education and could lead to sanctions for schools, colleges and universities. That month, the EEOC explained in its own guidelines what would constitute discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace and how members of the public can file a complaint. Last month, on the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the administration proposed sweeping changes to the law that would prohibit educational institutions from discriminating against transgender students and amend guidelines for how institutions handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The Department of Education must finalize this rule before it can enforce these protections, and the comment period for the rule runs through September. Atchley wrote that the order will remain in effect “pending final resolution of this matter” or until further orders are issued by the district or higher courts. Sweeping changes to Title IX will protect transgender students, survivors of abuse The Biden administration, by expanding federal protections for LGBTQ students, exercised a power that “properly belongs to Congress, the States and the people,” according to the attorneys general who filed the suit. “Defendants would be permitted to use ‘fear of future sanctions’ to compel ‘immediate compliance’ with the challenged guidance,” Atchley wrote, which he said would cause the states in question “significant hardship.” He agreed with state attorneys general that the Department of Education, in a lawsuit in West Virginia, sought to enforce his guidance by filing a statement of interest arguing that Title IX prohibits the state from barring transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports. According to a CNN analysis of American Civil Liberties Union data, 2022 marks a record year for laws targeting LGBTQ Americans. As of July 1 of this year, at least 162 bills have been introduced in 35 states that target LGTBQ people — more than double the number reviewed in 2020 and a higher number so far this year than the 151 bills reviewed for all of 2021, CNN reported. The majority of these accounts address trans and non-binary people, including issues of bathroom use, sports participation, school curricula, and identification documents. 10 anti-LGBTQ laws just went into effect. They all target schools. Intersex youth are also hurt by anti-trans laws, advocates say Earlier this month, more laws went into effect in Indiana, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah that limit the athletic endeavors in which transgender students can participate. In July, an Alabama law also went into effect limiting discussion of LGBTQ-related issues in schools and preventing transgender students from using bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity. Lawmakers who introduced the measures argued they were meant to protect children, promote fairness in sports and other fields and, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said, push back against “woke gender ideology.” Liberal activists have decried the laws, which they say aim to erase LGBTQ people and communities from America’s cultural narrative. Amid a nationwide mental health crisis in schools, the problem is especially evident, they say, increasing the risk of social isolation, depression and suicide among LGBTQ students. Schools are struggling to meet rising mental health needs, figures show Some clinicians emphasize mental health care for children who question their gender
