New Jersey… What’s Going On Out There?
Here's What's Happening for June 18th, 2024
National Sushi Day
A Surgeon General’s suggested warning, 175k Maryland pardons, another New Jersey scandal, and record-breaking heat are all in the news,
but let’s dive into the snag that President Biden’s new Title IX rule has hit.
Title IX
A new Title IX rule from the Biden administration, aimed at expanding civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ youth, faced a significant setback on Monday after a federal judge in Kentucky granted a preliminary injunction against the rule, affecting Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia1.
In his ruling, Judge Reeves called the rule, “Arbitrary in the truest sense of the word.”
Arbitrary…
A 2023 study from the Trevor Project found that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including roughly half of transgender and nonbinary youth2.
In fact, according to the CDC, LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers3.
There is nothing arbitrary about protecting them.
The Core of the Ruling
Judge Reeves' rationale for the injunction hinges on the argument that Title IX was originally intended to ensure gender equality in education, between men and women. Expanding the definition of “sex” to include “gender identity”, the judge claims, it becomes “not only impossible to square with Title IX but with the broader guarantee of education protection for all students.”
Without getting bogged down in specific language (though don’t worry, I’ll get all bogged down in a second), Title IX’s mission is to eliminate discrimination in education.
Expanding its scope to include gender identity is actually perfectly aligned with its mission.
Let’s Get Bogged Down!
Judge Reeves also noted that, “Based on the ‘pervasive’ nature of pronoun usage in everyday life, educators likely would be required to use students’ preferred pronouns regardless of whether doing so conflicts with the educator’s religious or moral beliefs. A rule that compels speech and engages in such viewpoint discrimination is impermissible.”
“Pervasive nature of pronoun usage.”
Everyone has pronouns!
The First Amendment “Concerns”
While we’re defining definitions…
Judge Reeves is concerned about pronouns as far as how they would affect a teacher’s First Amendment rights. He went to far as to say the rule has, “serious First Amendment implications.”
His concern seems to be that teachers would be compelled to use students’ preferred pronouns, potentially conflicting with their own personal religious or moral beliefs. While I’m all for making a teacher’s life easier and protecting their First Amendment right, that right does not circumvent a student’s right to the First Amendment.
Pronouns are a part of everyday language for everyone, and using them correctly is about acknowledging and respecting a person’s identity. The judge’s argument disregards the fact that educators, like all individuals, have a duty to respect the rights and identities of others.
New and Better Words
It’s Pride Month!
It is more crucial than ever to push for legal language and frameworks that reflect and respect the realities of all people, especially our most vulnerable youth.
Getting bogged down by the idea of redefining “sex” to include “gender identity” as a way to continue civil rights violations against our LGBTQ+ youth is cruel.
It’s time to evolve the language of the law to match the reality of the world.
And please, for the love of everything, learn what a pronoun is. Everyone has one - stop being weird.
Don’t forget - this is also a podcast :)
Hey, also:
(Or as an ebook on Amazon or Apple Books.)
And more than anything else… don’t forget:
I’m proud of you!
