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LEXIE CANNES STATE OF TRANS — All trans youth Gavin Grimm wants to do is pee in peace at his school in Gloucester County, Virginia. But peeing has resulted in an outpouring of hate from almost his entire community. If that wasn’t enough, Maine Gov. Paul LePage and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, have crossed state lines and joined a legal maneuver to permanently crush Grimm’s access to the boys’ bathroom.

Grimm’s school district’s trans “bathroom ban” has made its way all the way to federal court, and the two governors along with the Attorney Generals of South Carolina, West Virginia, Arizona, and Mississippi, are making a case for keeping the ban in place.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage was singled out in an editorial in the Portland (Maine) Press Herald for getting involved in the Virginia case:

“There is no reason for LePage to be involved in this case, and his position goes against rulings by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court [trans youth case of Nicole Maines] and the will of state voters, who in 2005 outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

What’s more, he is perpetuating harmful transgender stereotypes and contributing to an atmosphere that makes life difficult, and even dangerous, for transgender Americans of all ages.”

Maine Gov. LePage has said he was “appalled” at the Virginia youth’s lack of parenting. He also said 11-year-olds shouldn’t be filing lawsuits. North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory joined the action only after his own state’s Attorney General refused to do so.

Grimm was able to use the boy’s room at school for a year before being forced out when a parent complained. An earlier story in Raw Story accounts the hatred directed Grimm’s way following that decision.

Grimm: “It’s humiliating, it’s ostracizing and I don’t want to take that walk of shame to the unisex bathroom and know that everyone who saw me go in there knows why I’m in there — because I’m different, and I’ve been marked different by my school and publicly.”

No court ruling on the matter has been made at this point.

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Governors crossing state lines to stop trans people from peeing? It’s happening. Bathroom Cops are coming to your state, soon!

Nicole Maines: https://lexiecannes.com/2014/01/30/supreme-court-in-maine-rules-in-favor-of-trans-student-nicole-maines/

Editorial on Gov. LePage: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/12/14/our-view-lepage-backs-the-wrong-side-in-transgender-bias-lawsuit/

Background on the case: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/12/02/3727410/transgender-student-bathrooms-amicus-brief/

Earlier accounts: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/transgender-teen-angers-adults-by-asking-to-use-boys-bathroom-its-the-bible-belt-and-satan-is-in-our-town/

Watch LEXIE CANNES right now: http://www.amazon.com/Lexie-Cannes-CourtneyODonnell/dp/B00KEYH3LQ Or get the DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963781332

Read Lexie Cannes in The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-odonnell/

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Categories: Discrimination, Equality, Civil Rights, Judicial, Courts, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans