OBAMA DECREE ENDANGERS STUDENTS Wisconsin must push back against this unconstitutional power grab
Madison – Today President Obama formalized what he has been threatening for several weeks. Through a letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (DOE), every public school district in the country has been at least implicitly threatened with loss of federal funding if they don’t provide for transgendered students’ unfettered, unquestioned access to the restrooms and changing rooms of their choice.
Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, commented, “President Obama has once again overstepped his authority. The administration cannot unilaterally decide to change the meaning of the word sex as used in Title IX. Congress, which established Title IX 44 years ago, and the Courts, have never defined sex to include ‘gender orientation.’ Regardless of what he thinks, President Obama is not a king. He doesn’t get to change the law and issue decrees based on his whims and wishes. That’s not how America works.
“This issue is about the privacy, safety and dignity of all students. With his edict today, President Obama has essentially put a price tag on the privacy and safety of students—especially female students. He’s threatened to withhold federal funding if schools don’t conform to his extreme political agenda that includes allowing males in the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms and girls in the boys’ facilities. This puts the privacy rights, safety and well-being of all students at risk. And what about girls who have been sexually assaulted? This decree says their fears are meaningless and should not be considered. At a time when our society is decrying campus and date rape and rails against a so-called ‘war on women,’ you would think the government wouldn’t be interested in putting these women in situations that could easily re-traumatize them.”
Wisconsin Family Action asserts that today’s mandate is completely unnecessary. Common-sense accommodations are called for, not a blatant usurpation of the right of states and local school districts that takes an extreme and dangerous approach.
Wisconsin Family Action calls on all Wisconsin elected officials and public school administrators to stand against this most recent dictate from President Obama and his administration. Wisconsin schools must reject this extreme political agenda foisted on our state and our schools by an out-of-control federal government and take reasonable measures to safeguard the privacy rights and safety of all students.
Appling noted, “North Carolina has led the way on this issue and has stood firm; we need to follow their lead.”
Wisconsin Family Action is a statewide, not-for-profit organization actively strengthening, preserving
and promoting marriage, family, life and liberty in Wisconsin.
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