Transgender Rights

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (“LGBT”) and people living with HIV are on the line again this year before the United States Supreme Court.

Lambda Legal sent a letter to the Horry County School District today urging school officials to reverse their decision to suspend a transgender student and to adopt inclusive bathroom policies that respect the gender identities of its students and are in line with federal law, after news reports that a transgender student was suspended from Socastee High School for using the bathroom that matches his gender identity.

This year more than ever, transgender people were the focus of media attention. Transition stories and true and fictional narratives about trans lives exploded into the American consciousness like never before. This is a hopeful development.

We are quickly approaching the end of the year and many students are leaving school for winter break. At this time, when many of us are reflecting on the past year and celebrating holidays, we must remember that we still have much work to do to ensure that all students feel safe and respected in their schools. As part of this effort, we must continue to fight the harmful and discriminatory efforts to prevent transgender students from using the bathrooms and locker rooms associated with their gender.