More than 8,900 students, parents and community members have signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold student privacy and safety.
The document concerns the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia. A female student there is asking to use the boys restrooms, locker rooms and changing facilities.
“Schools have a duty to protect the privacy and safety of all students,” said Gary McCaleb, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed the brief. “Decades of court decisions have established that, in light of the right of bodily privacy, no law grants opposite-sex persons access to single-sex facilities, where the interest in privacy is obviously strongest and bodily exposure is so common.”
President Obama decreed that school districts across the nation must open the most private of facilities to anyone of either sex, by redefining the terms of Title IX in federal law. The Supreme Court has put a hold on that edict pending outcome of this case.
“Title IX’s regulations specifically authorize schools to have separate restrooms and locker rooms for boys and girls,” said Matt Sharp with ADF. “The policy accommodates students who aren’t comfortable using facilities designated for their biological sex without neglecting the established right of children to bodily privacy and safety.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn how you can speak up on the bathroom issue. Check out “Ask Me First!”
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is threatening to pull games from North Carolina because of the passage of HB 2, the bill that protects the privacy and safety of women and children in locker rooms, restrooms and other public facilities.
We need you to contact the ACC now as they will likely make a decision tonight!
Please go to the Family Policy Alliance Action Center and urge the ACC to not pull games from the state. While you’re there, you can also send a message of support to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory who has stood strong on the bathroom issue in the face of immense pressure.
Thank you for making your voice heard!
by Paul Weber, President & CEO
Two thousand years ago, when John the Baptist stood for God’s definition of marriage, he suffered the consequences. You remember the story: When John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife,” Herod’s wife, Herodias, had him killed (Mark 6:18-19).
Sound familiar? We’re seeing this unfold in America today. Now let’s connect the dots…
In June of 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized certain homosexual acts. At the time of the ruling, the gay community declared this had nothing to do with redefining marriage—only the right to privacy.
Fast-forward to 2015, the Supreme Court has legalized “same-sex marriage,” in opposition to the people in 31 states who voted to protect God’s design for marriage.
Now, one year later, true privacy is thrown to the wind as the homosexual lobby promotes the “right” of transgender persons to use bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities based on their gender identity—regardless of the safety and privacy of women and children.
It’s not difficult to connect the dots . . . deny God’s plan for marriage, human sexuality and even the reality of male and female or you will pay.
Family Policy Alliance and our nearly 40 state-based allies will always stand for God’s design and advocate for laws that allow all Americans to exercise their conscience. Will you “stand firm and take action” (Dan. 11:32b, ESV) with Family Policy Alliance and millions of pro-family Americans who believe the same way you do?
A report in The New Atlantis says there is no scientific evidence that people are born gay.
Lawrence Mayer and Paul McHugh worked to summarize research on the subject. They are concerned that more and more drastic measures are being taken to “help” those who are confused about their identity – with disastrous results.
For instance, research shows that adults who have undergone sex reassignment surgery are 5 times more likely to attempt suicide and 19 times more likely to succeed.
“Realignment surgery destroys healthy body parts, but genetically you will still be the same male or female,” said Regina Griggs with Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX). “Minors need to be taught to love and appreciate who they are as male or female, not some fictional concept that surgery can make everything happy and exciting.”
The report points to one study that showed up to 80 percent of adolescent boys who claimed to struggle with same-sex attractions no longer did as they reached adulthood.
The research team is concerned with the number of children being referred for hormonal treatment to delay the onset of puberty.
“This approach involves helping the children to self-identify even more with the gender label they prefer at the time,” they wrote. “One component of the gender-affirming approach has been the use of hormone treatments for adolescents in order to delay the onset of sex-typical characteristics during puberty and alleviate the feelings of dysphoria the adolescents will experience as their bodies develop sex-typical characteristics that are at odds with the gender with which they identify. There is relatively little evidence for the therapeutic value of these kinds of puberty-delaying treatments.”
In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Griggs cautioned parents.
“Parents need to read this study,” she said, “and work to help their children love and respect who they were created to be.”
A federal district court judge says the Obama Administration does not have the authority to interpret Title IX law and that the push to include biological males in girl’s restrooms, locker rooms and even sports teams must cease while a lawsuit moves forward.
Autumn Leva, director of policy for Family Policy Alliance, tells us why it’s an encouraging ruling and what you can do to stand for the privacy and safety of women and children.
You can learn more about our Ask Me First project here.
Even though a judge has halted the implementation of transgender bathroom policies for now, you still need to be armed with the right information should another court put their stamp of approval on the issue.
Our friends at The Family Leader of Iowa, one of Family Policy Alliance’s nearly 40 state-based policy groups have written a wonderful piece that will help no matter where you live.
This article first appeared on The Family Leader website.
Your voice has been heard in California! An outcry in the state – and across the nation – has resulted in a reprieve for Christian colleges and universities.
SB 1146 would have seriously restricted the religious freedoms of Christian institutions. On Wednesday, the author removed a provision that would have allowed students to sue “private institutions if they are disciplined for violating church teachings,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I don’t want to just rush a bill that’s going to have unintended consequences,” said Sen. Ricardo Lara, “so I want to take a break to really study this issue further.”
Jonathan Keller with the California Family Council, one of Family Policy Alliance’s nearly 40 state-based groups, said he was pleased with the move.
“This is certainly a victory for both religious liberty and student choice,” he said. “We are exceedingly grateful to our many coalition partners from local, state, and national organizations who have worked tirelessly to educate Californians to the dangers of SB 1146.”
Left in the legislation is a requirement for private schools to report the names of students expelled for violating morality codes. Sen. Lara said that would give him all the information to determine whether schools are “discriminating.”
Keller says the bill is likely to come back in 2017 and that churches and Christians should be prepared to push back again.
“While we remain cautious of any additional amendments before of the August 31 deadline,” Keller explained, “the current language of SB 1146 seems to recognize the value of faith-based schools in educating California’s underserved minority populations.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has stopped an effort to allow boys access to the girls bathrooms in a Virginia school district. At least until they can decide if they will review the Gloucester County School board’s case.
Justice Stephen Breyer said in a statement that he concurred with the four conservative justices in the 5-3 action as a “courtesy,” because the hold will “preserve the status quo.”
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 50 concerned parents, students, grandparents and community members urging the court to reverse the lower court’s decision. Jeremy Tedesco is an ADF allied attorney.
“Schools have a duty to protect the privacy and safety of all students,” he said. “The Supreme Court did the right thing in placing the 4th Circuit panel’s mandate and the preliminary injunction entered by the district court on hold until the high court itself has a chance to decide if it will take up this case.”
The push to allow men access to women’s showers, locker rooms and restrooms has provoked an outcry from those most affected – women and children using those facilities.
Family Policy Alliance is answering those concerns by launching the Ask Me First campaign. The goal is to allow a forum for women and children to tell their stories and to encourage lawmakers and elected officials to ask first before they infringe on basic rights.
You can learn more by going to askmefirstplease.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read more at The Daily Signal.
The Delaware Family Policy Council, along with Family Policy Alliance and other allies, successfully ended an attempt to enshrine special rights for gender identity in the state Constitution.
Executive Director Nicole Theis says the key to success was working together.