READ the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release Joint Guidance to Help Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students

Yes! Early today, the Obama administration today released guidance to all public school districts on allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity,

Read below

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released joint guidance today to help provide educators the information they need to ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex.


Recently, questions have arisen from school districts, colleges and universities, and others about transgender students and how to best ensure these students, and non-transgender students, can all enjoy a safe and discrimination-free environment.


Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student's sex, including a student's transgender status. The guidance makes clear that both federal agencies treat a student's gender identity as the student's sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX.


"No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus," said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. "This guidance further clarifies what we've said repeatedly - that gender identity is protected under Title IX. Educators want to do the right thing for students, and many have reached out to us for guidance on how to follow the law. We must ensure that our young people know that whoever they are or wherever they come from, they have the opportunity to get a great education in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence."


"There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex," said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. "This guidance gives administrators, teachers, and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies. I look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Education - and with schools across the country - to create classroom environments that are safe, nurturing, and inclusive for all of our young people."

Read the rest after the jump

Justice Department will Review the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin Case

Well, that was quick.

The DOJ will look into the Trayvon Martin case and determine if federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.

Here's the statement

As the Department first acknowledged last year, we have an open investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin. The Department of Justice’s Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, as well as the evidence and testimony from the state trial. Experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction, and whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the Department’s policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial.

This isn't over

Marco McMillian's Family asks for the Justice Department to assist in the Investigation

The autopsy of Mississippi mayoral candidate Marco McMillian has led to more questions. His family doesn't think enough is being done, so they held a press conference hoping for the Justice Department to get involved

Justice Department asks Supreme Court to review 2 DOMA Challenges

Yesterday, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to hear not one, but two challenges to DOMA.

The info is a lot of legal talk, but this piece from Lambda Legal may be easier to understand:

This development highlights the desire by all, the government included, to resolve this issue quickly. It is clear to us, to the Solicitor General and to the Department of Justice that DOMA’s days are numbered. The last four courts to consider the question have all found Section 3 of DOMA—which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex couples’ valid marriages—to be unconstitutional. The Justice Department’s action may speed the day when the Supreme Court reaches the issue. Lambda Legal and Morrison & Foerster stand ready to argue for fair treatment for Karen Golinski and her spouse, Amy Cunninghis, in any court, at any time—and we welcome this opportunity to finally put DOMA out of its, and our, misery.

There are loving, married same-sex couples, and grieving lesbian and gay widows and widowers around the country who are being hurt by the government’s discriminatory actions—that’s why there are DOMA cases pending in several jurisdictions, brought on behalf of many plaintiffs. Every one of their stories demonstrates that DOMA is an unfair and discriminatory law that violates the Constitution. While it is up to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not to hear Golinski now, we are confident that DOMA will be found unconstitutional—and the sooner, the better.

This is getting good. More to come.

Lambda Legal’s Jennifer Pizer has questions about the OPM decision.

After the OPM announced their decision on the Karen Golinski case, Pizer, a Lambda Lawyer, felt that their answers only led to more questions:

“Is it possible for Judge Kozinski to be acting in some capacity other than as an Article III judge?” she questioned, “We think when he’s sitting in an employee grievance procedure, he is an Article III judge, that’s the only capacity he has.”

Pizer explained that although the order he issued was not an opinion of a ninth circuit panel, “it is an order that has Article III force to it and he's speaking in his role as an Article III judge when he interprets federal law.” But Pizer was even more troubled by the fact that OPM chose to present its conclusion by issuing a public statement rather than actually countering Kozinski’s rationale in a legal brief.

“They’re stating their position via press statements,” said Pizer. “If they have confidence in their analysis, they should do what people do in legal proceedings.” In the case, Kozinski argued for a separation of powers — saying that if the judiciary has the inherent power under the U.S. Constitution to regulate itself, then it has to be the case that employees of an executive branch agency (OPM in this case) do not have superior authority to dictate what goes on in the judicial branch.

“They’ve said they disagree but they’ve never deigned to explain why. They’ve never written that analysis,” Pizer said of OPM, which took its cues in the case from the Department of Justice.

“What is the Obama administration’s analysis for why the ninth circuit doesn’t have the constitutional authority to regulate its own employee practices?”

She poses good questions, I hope they can explain their reasons. I believe it has a lot to do with DOMA and how this case could become a monkeywrench in the overall repeal. My explaination is probably way off, however, her questions should be answered, very clearly and truthfully.

Thomas Perez ain't Playing: Vows to step up Hate Crimes Enforcement

This is news I'm glad to hear! Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said that he will beef up Hate Crimes enforcement.

He said that he was “shocked” at learning that hate crime prosecutions went down during the Bush Administration years. His statistics say that hate crime cases peaked in 1996 with forty nine and had a low of twelve in 2006. Perez added that so far in 2009, twenty five hate crime cases have been filed, the largest number since 2001.

To meet the demand, Perez plans on hiring 100 additional staffers, which will include more than fifty attorneys. The new staffers will also be assisting with the expanded federal hate crimes law that now includes protecting those that are targeted because of their sexual orientation.

That's what I'm talking about. Hopefully, more people will support his efforts.

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DOJ gets a Gay

After the House of the Obama announced their disapproval of DOMA, they took another good step by hiring a Gay liaison.

Matt Nosanchuk, a former adviser to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), will join the department as a senior counselor to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, according to an e-mail University of Pennsylvania Professor Tobias Wolff sent to associates Monday night. Wolff was a top LGBT adviser on the Obama campaign. In the email, obtained by POLITICO, Wolff said Nosanchuk "will be the front office point person on LGBT issues for the DOJ Civil Rights Division" among other duties.

Hopefully he can convey the progress of repealing DOMA to our community, as well as easing the overheated hot heads.

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Obama's DOJ is planning to meet with Major Gay Rights Groups Next Week

The Obama Justice Department has scheduled a meeting with major gay rights folks next week!

They hope to work through DOMA legal biz and other cases besetting it.

Maybe this act can smooth over some the issues lingering from the DOMA brief and other gay rights matters. Hopefully, they can come up with a plan of action that sets a better tone with us.

I knew that at first, the DOJ refused the meeting, but now with a plan in the works they can finally get the ball rolling. I would like to believe that this meeting will be a productive event and with our best interests at heart.

Please make this work!

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