In a letter to school districts, over 100 pastors said to ignore mandates allowing transgender students to use the restroom of the gender they identify with.
Pastors in the vicinity of the Richland County, Ohio school districts sent out a back-to-school letter regarding a topic that is not typical back-to-school fare.
100 Ohio Pastors Urge Schools to Ignore Transgender Bathroom Mandate[/tweetthis]
Transgender students and bathroom usage.
The letter, supported by over 100 local pastors, urged school districts to ignore the U.S. Department of Education’s mandate from last May that allows transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, reports USA Today.
According to the letter, the pastors believe “there is no authority except from God,” and the Department of Education’s directive “defies objectivity and logic,” and also “jeopardizes the privacy and safety of vulnerable women and children.”
The letter goes on to cite several Biblical verses that refer to civil disobedience, and encourages schools to disobey the order rather than “sacrifice the safety and privacy of women and children on the altar of political correctness.”
Ben Mutti, head of the Richland Community Prayer Network and initiator of the letter, declined comment, stating that the pastors were speaking with “one voice,” and “the letter speaks for itself.”
Ohio is not the only state experiencing friction with the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom mandate. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Virginia district which opposed the mandate, blocking a federal appeals court ruling against the Gloucester County School Board while they consider whether or not to hear the case of Gavin Grimm, a trans boy who wishes to use the boys’ bathroom.
More examples like this exist across the country as Republican lawmakers attempt to force students to use restroom and locker facilities that correspond to their gender at birth, while transgender students and their supporters seek to give people the right to follow their gender identity.
Large sums of money could be at stake here, as funds could be withheld from public schools that refuse to comply with the mandate.