Tennessee bill to keep kids from using bathrooms of opposite sex moves forward
A bill requiring all students to use the bathrooms and other
facilities that match their biological sex has unanimously passed a House
subcommittee.
While the
bill is opposed by Governor Bill Haslam over concerns related to federal
funding, Tennessee legislators defended it as necessary to balance the privacy
of all students with compassion for those with gender identity disorder.
Haslam has
supported leaving gender identity and related facility decisions up to
individual school districts.
The bill
is opposed by the ACLU.
Many
school boards and other political entities and individuals have expressed
concern about the risk to federal funding if students are required to use
restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities that match their gender. However,
legal precedent and federal law do not allow the Obama administration or any
other federal entities to tie federal funding of any kind to gender identity
and facility use, according to attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom.