Federal judge blocks Biden admin directives on transgender school bathrooms and athletes

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Biden administration directive that allowed students to use school bathrooms and play on school sports teams that matched their gender identities.

Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement Saturday the ruling was "a major victory for women's sports and for the privacy and safety of girls and women."

Judge Charles Atchley Jr. of the Eastern District of Tennessee, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, sided with a group of 20 Republican attorneys general, who argued that the directive made it impossible for them to enforce state laws, Fox News reported.

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In an opinion issued Friday, Atchley agreed that the states "cannot continue regulating pursuant to their state laws while simultaneously complying with Defendants' guidance." Atchley also rejected the administration's attempt to justify the directive on the basis of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2019), which applied the workplace discrimination protections included in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Supreme Court, Atchley wrote, "explicitly refused to decide whether 'sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and dress codes' violate Title VII."