Texas attorney general files suit on Obama's ‘bathroom directive’
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, and other federal agencies and officials, which are now issuing directives requiring Texas public schools open up all intimate areas (restrooms, locker rooms, etc.) to both sexes.
The State of Texas’s lawsuit also defends a local school district whose policies are at odds with the Obama Administration directive.
“Our local schools are now in the crosshairs of the Obama Administration, which maintains it will punish those schools who do not comply with its orders. These schools are facing the potential loss of school funding for simply following common sense policies that protect their students,” Texas Attorney General Paxton said.
“This represents just the latest example of the current administration’s attempts to accomplish by executive fiat what they couldn’t accomplish through the democratic process in Congress. By forcing through his policies by executive action, President Obama excluded the voice of the people. We stand today to ensure those voices are heard.”
The Obama Administration is attempting to rewrite Congress’s use of the term “sex” in federal law to now expand to include “gender identity.”
If successful, this radical change opens up all intimate areas within schools simultaneously to members of both sexes. Texas is joined by 10 other states in pushing back against enforcement of these unconstitutional rules.
Joining Texas in the filing are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
To view the lawsuit, visit: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/files/2016/complaint_FM.pdf
About Attorney General Ken Paxton
Texas’ 51st Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is known for his principled and uncompromising devotion to America’s founding values, and as a man who has demonstrated enormous political courage throughout his service to Texas.
The son of an Air Force veteran, General Paxton is a stalwart leader with an abiding passion and deep-seated respect for our U.S. Constitution.
In his first year in office, General Paxton hit the ground running, filing eight lawsuits against the federal government to protect Texas sovereignty on environmental issues, health care, religious freedom and immigration. The lawsuit he led for a 26-state coalition stopped President Obama’s illegal immigration plan in its tracks, winning in federal courts three times.
He also launched a new unit targeting human traffickers in Texas, fought for the rights of consumers against unscrupulous companies and institutions, and protected the privacy rights of Texans during the RadioShack bankruptcy hearings.
While serving in both chambers of the Texas Legislature, General Paxton worked to protect the 10th Amendment, defending Texas’ state sovereignty. He co-sponsored and defended Texas’ Voter ID bill, and has been a prominent voice in the defense of religious liberty and the protection of the unborn.
A defender of our free enterprise system, General Paxton has worked to make Texas a beacon of economic prosperity, opposing burdensome government regulations that harm Texas jobs and stunt economic growth.
Ken Paxton was born December 23, 1962, in Minot, North Dakota, while his father was stationed at Minot Air Force Base. He graduated from Baylor University, where he served as student body president, earning a B.A. in psychology in 1985 and an M.B.A. in 1986.
In 1991, he earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, founded by Thomas Jefferson. After law school, he joined the firm of Strasburger & Price, LLP, and later served as in-house counsel for J.C. Penney Company.
First elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2002, General Paxton represented House District 70 for 10 years, one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. In 2012, he was elected to the Texas State Senate, representing Senate District 8 in Collin and Dallas counties.
He met his wife Angela, a guidance counselor at Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco, while they were students at Baylor. The Paxtons have four children: Tucker, Abby, Mattie, and Katie. They are members of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.
The State of Texas’s lawsuit also defends a local school district whose policies are at odds with the Obama Administration directive.
“Our local schools are now in the crosshairs of the Obama Administration, which maintains it will punish those schools who do not comply with its orders. These schools are facing the potential loss of school funding for simply following common sense policies that protect their students,” Texas Attorney General Paxton said.
“This represents just the latest example of the current administration’s attempts to accomplish by executive fiat what they couldn’t accomplish through the democratic process in Congress. By forcing through his policies by executive action, President Obama excluded the voice of the people. We stand today to ensure those voices are heard.”
The Obama Administration is attempting to rewrite Congress’s use of the term “sex” in federal law to now expand to include “gender identity.”
If successful, this radical change opens up all intimate areas within schools simultaneously to members of both sexes. Texas is joined by 10 other states in pushing back against enforcement of these unconstitutional rules.
Joining Texas in the filing are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
To view the lawsuit, visit: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/files/2016/complaint_FM.pdf
About Attorney General Ken Paxton
Texas’ 51st Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is known for his principled and uncompromising devotion to America’s founding values, and as a man who has demonstrated enormous political courage throughout his service to Texas.
The son of an Air Force veteran, General Paxton is a stalwart leader with an abiding passion and deep-seated respect for our U.S. Constitution.
In his first year in office, General Paxton hit the ground running, filing eight lawsuits against the federal government to protect Texas sovereignty on environmental issues, health care, religious freedom and immigration. The lawsuit he led for a 26-state coalition stopped President Obama’s illegal immigration plan in its tracks, winning in federal courts three times.
He also launched a new unit targeting human traffickers in Texas, fought for the rights of consumers against unscrupulous companies and institutions, and protected the privacy rights of Texans during the RadioShack bankruptcy hearings.
While serving in both chambers of the Texas Legislature, General Paxton worked to protect the 10th Amendment, defending Texas’ state sovereignty. He co-sponsored and defended Texas’ Voter ID bill, and has been a prominent voice in the defense of religious liberty and the protection of the unborn.
A defender of our free enterprise system, General Paxton has worked to make Texas a beacon of economic prosperity, opposing burdensome government regulations that harm Texas jobs and stunt economic growth.
Ken Paxton was born December 23, 1962, in Minot, North Dakota, while his father was stationed at Minot Air Force Base. He graduated from Baylor University, where he served as student body president, earning a B.A. in psychology in 1985 and an M.B.A. in 1986.
In 1991, he earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, founded by Thomas Jefferson. After law school, he joined the firm of Strasburger & Price, LLP, and later served as in-house counsel for J.C. Penney Company.
First elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2002, General Paxton represented House District 70 for 10 years, one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. In 2012, he was elected to the Texas State Senate, representing Senate District 8 in Collin and Dallas counties.
He met his wife Angela, a guidance counselor at Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco, while they were students at Baylor. The Paxtons have four children: Tucker, Abby, Mattie, and Katie. They are members of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.