NOT ON OUR WATCH! Demand Obama’s overreach be ignored!
Demand that HB4474 – “The Bathroom Bill” receives a public hearing
in the Illinois Fall Veto Session.
On Friday, May 13, the Obama administration issued orders calling for all public schools and universities to permit transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identity instead of their biological sex. This lawless directive – which came in a letter signed by officials with the Departments of Education and Justice — does not have the authority of law –but does contain an implicit threat: schools that do not abide by the Obama administration orders could face lawsuits or loss of federal funds under Title IX.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
The Obama Administration has once again overstepped legal boundaries by redefining the scope and reach of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Obama administration has deemed “sex” an elastic term, and regards “gender” (how one feels) synonymous with “sex” (biology), and is now aggressively embedding “gender” as a part of federal policy, including Title IX funding. Lawmakers who drafted Titles VII and Title IX never even considered that the term “sex” would be anything other than biological sex. With this directive, Obama is slapping the heavy hand of government on local schools. He is using our children as pawns to accomplish his goals of social reengineering
The absurdity of girls and boys having to share the same bathrooms, lockers and showers did not go unnoticed by the ultra-left Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Writing for the Washington Post, Ginsburg acknowledges, “Separate places to disrobe, sleep, perform personal bodily functions are permitted, in some situations required, by regard for individual privacy.”
PALATINE, ILLINOIS
Consider what is happening in Palatine, Illinois.
- In late 2015, a Palatine high school caved to the threats of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to strip federal funding if the school did not allow a transgender boy to have full access to the girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms and showers.
- Because the school acquiesced to the federal government, 51 families have filed a federal lawsuit against the ED attempting to reverse the policy. The impact this policy is having on the girls who attend this high school is heart wrenching.
- According to the lawsuit, “Every day these girls go to school, they experience embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, fear, apprehension, stress, degradation, and loss of dignity because they will have to use the locker room and restroom with a biological male. They are afraid of being seen by, and being forced to share intimate spaces with a male while they are in various stages of undress. These girls are also afraid they will have to see a male in a state of undress.”
So far, governors and state leaders in twelve states have begun to push back against this outrageous and incredibly dangerous order. ILLINOIS IS NOT ON THE LIST. At the time of this writing, GOV. BRUCE RAUNER has not made a statement on this unconstitutional federal overreach.
In 2015, REP. THOMAS MORRISON (R-District 54) had the foresight to introduce HB4474, known as the Pupil Physical Privacy Act. Click here for more information.
Rep. Thomas Morrison explained: “It’s reasonable, it’s rational, it’s common sense to separate these restrooms and locker rooms, these most intimate of spaces, by an individual’s anatomy rather than by one’s gender identity.”
This bill would:
- Add clarity to the Illinois School Code with regard to locker room and bathroom usage.
- Require schools to separate these spaces according to anatomy, or gender listed on a birth certificate.
UNBELIEVABLY, HB4474 WAS NOT EVEN GIVEN THE COURTESY OF A HEARING! IT CONTINUES TO LANGUISH IN THE HOUSE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE.
Interestingly, REP. ROBYN GABEL (D-District18), Chairwoman of the Human Services Committee, states in her biography “Throughout her career, Robyn Gabel has maintained a strong commitment to serving the people of Illinois as an advocate for women, children and families.”
If she has such a strong commitment to serving the people of Illinois as an advocate for women, children, and families, WHY doesn’t she call for a hearing on HB4474?
Please take action!
It is imperative that our state leaders, local school superintendents and local school board members hear from us TODAY. Would you call the following people and urge them to refuse to comply with the Obama directive, even if it means losing federal dollars or the threat of a lawsuit? We cannot sacrifice our children and grandchildren on the altar of the money.
Gov. Bruce Rauner
217-782-0244 or e-mail http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactus/Pages/VoiceAnOpinion.aspx
Attorney General Lisa Madigan
Civil Rights Hotline: 877-581-3692 or e-mail http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/about/email_ag.jsp
State School Superintendent Tony Smith
217/782-4321 or e-mail http://webprod1.isbe.net/contactisbe/
State Board of Education Chairman James T. Meeks
217/782-4321 or e-mail http://webprod1.isbe.net/contactisbe/
Also:
- Contact your regional superintendent, local school superintendent and school board members. Show up at the next regularly scheduled board meeting and speak in opposition to the Obama directive.
- Contact your State Representative and demand that HB4474 be given a public hearing. Urge them to SUPPORT the bill. Click here for Illinois House Directory. If you don’t know who your representative is then click here to find out who they are and how to contact them.
- Contact the Human Services Committee and demand that HB4474 be given a public hearing. Urge them to SUPPORT the bill. Click here for their names and contact information.
Please pray that our leaders will have the courage to resist manipulation, pressure and the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 tells us, “The fear of man brings a snare, But, whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.” 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Valuable resource: Male and Female Identity in a Sexually Confused World
Aligning ourselves with God’s plan for man and woman is the solution side of the problem. Let us pray deeply for the ability to live into our male and female identity with more fullness, that we might offer a restorative picture for all of the world. Read more here.