Federal Judge Blocks Obama’s Transgender Bathroom Policy
22nd August 2016
A U.S. District Court judge on Sunday blocked the Obama administration from implementing new rules aimed at allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
The ruling, by Judge Reed O’Connor of Fort Worth, Texas, is a win for the 13 states that had sought to prevent the administration’s directives from taking effect. It comes a month after the Supreme Court blocked a lower court order allowing a student in Virginia to use the boys’ bathroom during the upcoming school year.
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In his 38-page ruling, O’Connor found the Obama administration had failed to follow the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires the federal government to allow for comments on new proposed rules. O’Connor did not rule on the constitutionality of the directive itself.