The Obama administration launched another offensive in the battle over public accommodation Friday, telling all public schools to allow students to use facilities based on their gender identity instead of their biological sex, a directive that Liberty Counsel President Mathew Staver says is blatantly unconstitutional and part of a larger Obama goal of rubbing God out of the public square.
Officials at the Justice and Education departments released a letter providing “guidance” as to how school districts should comply with the policy. The letter also made it clear that states or schools that did not fall in line could face federal lawsuits or a denial of federal education funds.
“Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s sex, including a student’s transgender status. The guidance makes clear that both federal agencies treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX,” stated the latter.
Staver says the idea that lawmakers considered gender identity in the context of sex discrimination 44 years ago is absurd.
“Common sense says that in 1972, no one was thinking that ‘sex’ included somebody’s fictitious mind games of thinking they are the opposite gender,” said Staver.
Not only does he believe Congress did not intend the expanded definition of sex, but Staver points out that lawmakers have repeatedly defeated attempts to make such a change to Title IX.
“(The Obama administration demand) eviscerates the statute and has nothing to do with its intent. In fact, Congress, multiple times over the past 10-15 years, has rejected attempts to include sexual orientation or gender identity in any of the federal laws. They’ve specifically rejected those attempts,” said Staver.
He also urges parents and all citizens to carefully watch how local officials react to the government’s demands.
“If any school buckles to this nonsense, we encourage families and communities to hold those school officials and those school boards accountable for the sexual assaults that no doubt will come in light of these policies and agendas,” said Staver.
While many conservatives fear another long court fight will result in another disappointing decision from the Supreme Court, Staver is confident the administration will lose this battle.
“It absolutely is contrary to the law. They’re making it up as they go. They’re going to lose this in a legal challenge,” said Staver.
Nonetheless, Staver is alarmed by the impact of the government pushing this agenda on the nation.
“It shows how radical this agenda is, to accommodate a sexual, evolutionary, anarchist kind of agenda that you can think, therefore you are something that you’re really not, over the well being and interest of students, over the well being, interest and protection of religious freedom. They really couldn’t care less,” said Staver.
In some states, the threat of withholding federal aid is primarily a hit to programs providing meals to underprivileged students. Staver says holding that funding as a bargaining chip is especially galling.
“It is the top priority agenda for this administration. They don’t care whether little boys are girls have their school lunches. ‘Fine, they’re not going to eat but we’re going to allow boys to go into the girls’ restroom, shower rooms and locker rooms.’ That’s their agenda. It’s actually very perverted and, frankly, dangerous,” said Staver.
As troubled as he is by this policy effort, Staver says the larger goal of Obama and his allies is even more frightening.
“They want to abolish the concept of gender, so there is no male and there is no female. It’s all a product of your mind,” said Staver. “Whatever you want to be then you ought to be treated that way. That’s Never Never Land. That’s George Orwell’s ‘1984.’ This is turning reality into some kind of fiction-based living situation,” said Staver.
Ultimately, he says the left is trying to scrub God and morality from American life.
“The reason they want to abolish gender is because they also want to remove any kind of moral construct regarding human sexuality. Ultimately they want to abolish gender so they can abolish the very notion of the creator God himself, who created you and I in His image. Male and female, God created you and I, distinctly different yet complementary,” said Staver.
The Justice Department order says any student can identify as the opposite gender of their biological sex with consent from his or her parents and the school must comply. In addition, the school is not allowed to seek any sort of verification.
“A school may not require transgender students to have a medical diagnosis, undergo any medical treatment, or produce a birth certificate or other identification document before treating them consistent with their gender identity,” the letter reads.
Staver says the government is effectively cheering people on in their mental illness.
“Let’s just be frank. This is not normal. This is a mental disorder, just as much as anorexia or bulimia, or even much worse, apotemnophilia, someone who thinks that they are a disabled person inhabiting an able body. Yes there are people who think that way. Those are not normal,” said Staver.
He says catering to people struggling with their gender is the same as enabling those other disorders.
“It certainly doesn’t help to suggest that it’s normal. It’s not, any more than it would be suggestive that, ‘Even though you want to regurgitate your food even though you’re not overweight, that’s okay. We’re going to do something that protects that.’ That just doesn’t help the individual,” said Staver.
