Virginia: Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., ACLU
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:” Romans 1:26
In 2013, G.G., a high school freshman girl suffering from Gender Dysphoria was advised by her psychologist to start living as a male and to be given hormones. According to court documents, the psychologist wrote a letter telling others G.G. “should be treated as a boy in all respects, including with respect to his use of the restroom."
During her sophomore year, she enrolled requesting to be treated as a male, and the high school provided an alternative to her using the girls’ bathroom facilities. G.G. at first agreed to use the bathroom in the nurse’s office. She later requested, and was given, full access to the boys’ bathroom facilities for seven weeks.
Once concerns were raised with members of the school board, they proposed a resolution to protect the privacy of the other students. At a subsequent meeting, with much community input, the resolution was passed on a vote of 6-1 and the following day, G.G. was informed she could no longer use the boys’ bathroom and would be disciplined if she did. The school then created three single-stall, gender neutral restrooms for her (and other students’) use.
The Heart of the Matter
However, G.G. refused to use the facilities, claiming their use would differentiate her in the estimation of her peers. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) filed a lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board, alleging a right for G.G. to only use a bathroom in the midst of students of the opposite sex. They cited the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause (overlooking the protection of students who did not want their bodily privacy rights violated). The ACLU also misrepresented the meaning of “sex” as outlined in Title IX. They claim it refers to self-declared gender—despite the statute’s intent (and explicit wording) regarding single-sex locker rooms and bathroom facilities.
After several lower court decisions, the case was scheduled to be heard by the United States Supreme Court. However, the Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Justice (DOJ) changed federal guidelines regarding bathroom use. Shortly after G.G. graduated high school, the Fourth Circuit sent the matter to the US District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News. It was at that point on May 22, 2018 that Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen fallaciously “found” a non-existent right for gender dysphoric students to disrobe and perform bodily functions in the midst of opposite sex students under the Equal Protection Clause. She subsequently ordered a settlement conference between the Gloucester County School Board and G.G.
The Fourth Circuit sent the matter to the US District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News. It was at that point on May 22, 2018 that Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen fallaciously “found” a non-existent right for gender dysphoric students to disrobe and perform bodily functions in the midst of opposite sex students under the Equal Protection Clause. She subsequently ordered a settlement conference between the Gloucester County School Board and G.G.
“Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” 1 Corinthians 13:6
By God’s grace, the Gloucester County School Board has remained determined. Their counsel filed a brief on June 1 to appeal the judge’s directive. We pray a higher court, perhaps even the SCOTUS, will take up the case and reaffirm the bodily privacy rights of students—to NOT be forced to share bathrooms and locker rooms with students of the opposite biological gender. We further request you join us in praying for judges to evaluate and interpret laws based on their actual meaning, not their desire to rewrite policy based on their own social ideology.
The NCLL stands squarely for your Constitutional rights, especially for Christians to exercise our deeply held faith and morals. Faithful prayers and generous gifts advance truth in a world that’s increasingly hostile toward our beliefs—and bent on sacrificing our children and grandchildren on the altar of self-delusional pride.
Above all, you and I can uphold Biblical truth through the courts, the pulpit, and in the public square in the face of a seemingly tireless assault on reality.
