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the Texas legislature adjourned its special session without passing a so-called “bathroom bill,” which threatened to write discrimination against transgender people into state law.
the Episcopal Church supports local, state and federal laws that prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression and opposes any legislation that seeks to deny the dignity, equality, and civil rights of transgender people
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm, the 17-year-old female-to-male transgender teen who took on his local school district when they refused to allow him to use the boys’ restrooms and locker facilities at his high school. The 4th Circuit ruled in Gavin’s favor based on the Title IX guidelines issued by the Obama Administration. Monday, the US Supreme Court has vacated the earlier decision in GG vs Gloucester County School District and returned the case to the 4th Circuit Court for reconsideration.
Curry and Jennings argue that restrictions “target some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.” And, they point out, the Episcopal Church has some economic weight behind its opinions.
“Others would do well to read [the Rev. Fry’s letter] for some background on the shortcomings in [Governor Hutchinson’s] blast of President Obama for reminding states of the need not to discriminate against transgender students.” – Arkansas Times
The Star News Online reports that some of the religious organizations in the Wilmington NC area are flat out opposed to the bathroom bill legislation and are rallying with the troops to have it rescinded. Other churches are sitting on the fence with a wait & see position.
The Episcopal Café seeks to be an independent voice, reporting and reflecting on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican tradition. The Café is not a platform of advocacy, but it does aim to tell the story of the church from the perspective of Progressive Christianity. Our collective sympathy, as the Café, lies with the project of widening the circle of inclusion within the church and empowering all the baptized for the role to which they have been called as followers of Christ.
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