When the Obama administration announced May 13 that it would be taking groundbreaking steps toward transgender equality, the decision may have signaled the end of a controversial bill in Illinois.
On May 4, Vanita Gupta, principal deputy assistant for the U.S. Department of Justice, sent a letter to North Carolina governor Pat McCrory arguing that HB 2 is not only dangerous, but violates federal law. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, which Gupta argued should be extended to gender identity.
Morrison says that his intent in introducing the bill was to ensure that schools have an “objective standard” to follow in granting students access to bathrooms and locker room facilities.
Morrison, however, says these guidelines don’t have to be “financial or a logistical burden” placed on schools. “The fact that Illinois does not have a budget is a major concern of mine,” he says.
“Illinois has included gender identity in the Human Rights Act for more than a decade,” he says. “Transgender individuals are protected, and by law, should be able to use the bathroom or locker room that corresponds with their gender identity. The leadership of both the [Illinois] House and the Senate do not have an interest in debating this issue again.”
Still, Ed Yohnka, communications and public policy director for the Illinois ACLU, believes that the Obama administration’s guidance can help further a culture of understanding in Illinois schools, combating the fear he says bills like HB 4474 foster.
