Fri 24 Feb 2017 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The Trump administration has now officially revoked landmark guidelines that aim to protect trans students in schools and allow them to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Photo: EPA Reversing the guidelines of former president Barack Obama, Trump argues that the federal Government should not interfere in the decisions of states and public schools. The announcement promoted hundreds of people to protest outside the White House. A two page letter is due to be sent to all public schools in the US, stating that the guidelines set by Obama are being withdrawn because it did not get public vetting, caused confusion, lacked extensive legal analysis and created legal challenges. The letter offers no guidelines other than that “schools must ensure that all students, including LGBT students, are able to learn and thrive in a safe environment.” The Washington Post reports that during Trumps speech at the Republican convention - which took place shortly after the shooting at a gay club in Orlando - while accepting his part’s nomination he stated “As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens,” then adding a critical qualifier, “from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.” He then appeared to back down on this and speaking of the trans student bathroom debate in April told Fox News “I think that local communities and states should make the decision. “And I feel very strongly about that. The federal government should not be involved.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 24th February 2017 - 10:57am