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President Obama predicted on Wednesday courts will settle which public restroom transgender students should be able to use amid continuing controversy over the issue.

Obama made the remarks in response to a question during a town hall on “PBS News Hour” with Gwen Ifill as part of a trip to Elkhart, Ind., in which he promoted his economic agenda. The question from came from Arvis Dawson, who identified himself as a community organizer and said he supports equal rights, but has issues with transgender restroom use.

Weeks after the Obama administration issued guidance requiring schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms consistent with their gender identity, Dawson asked Obama why he sought to make that an issue when so many other things are before him.

Obama said many things are indeed before him and denied he sought to make bathroom use an issue, but felt compelled to respond because he thinks transgender children are being treated unfairly.

“What happened and what continues to happen is you have transgender kids in schools,” Obama said. “And they get bullied. And they get ostracized. And it’s tough for them.”

Obama told Dawson they’re of a generation where transgender people were out of sight, and so “people suffered silently,” but now things have changed and schools asked the administration for guidance.

“And my answer is that we should deal with this issue the same way we’d want it dealt with if it was our child,” Obama said. “And that is to try to create an environment of some dignity and kindness for these kids. And that’s sort of the bottom line.”

But Obama added he had to look not just in his heart, but also at the law, which he said he interpreted as an obligation “to accommodate these kids so that they are not in a vulnerable situation.”

“Now, I understand that people, you know, for religious beliefs or just general discomfort might disagree,” Obama said. “And I’m not the one who’s making a big issue of it. But if the school districts around the country ask me what do you think we should do? Then what we’re going to do is tell them let’s find a way to accommodate them in a way that makes sure that these kids are not, you know, excluded and ostracized.”

When moderator Ifill asked Dawson whether he was satisfied with the answer, the audience members said he was, but had religious issues with transgender people using the restroom. Dawson added, “Wherever you were going to the bathroom before, continue to go to the bathroom there. I don’t have a problem with that.”

Obama sought to allays those concerns by pointing out many transgender students may not feel comfortable using the restroom, which he said is “a tough situation if you’re a kid.”

“I have profound respect for everybody’s religious beliefs on this,” Obama said. “But if you’re at a public school, the question is, how do we just make sure that children are treated with kindness. That’s all. And you know, my reading of scripture tells me that that golden rule is pretty high up there in terms of my Christian belief.”

Amid numerous lawsuits filed over transgender rights under federal law in recent months, Obama said courts would resolve the trans bathroom issue regardless of his guidance.

“Now, this is going to be settled by the courts, ultimately,” Obama said. “There have been lawsuits everywhere.”

But Obama jokingly insisted that he didn’t seek to make trans bathroom use an issue until the matter was brought to him.

“I just wanted to emphasize to you, though, it’s not like I woke up one day and I said you know what we really need to do is let’s start working on high school bathrooms,” Obama said. “I was thinking about ISIL. And I was thinking about, you know, the economy and I’m thinking about jobs. But one of the things that, as president, you learn is that you don’t choose the issues all the time. The issues come to you. And then you have to make your best judgment about what you think is right, and I’ve expressed what I think is the best judgment that is consistent with our traditions and our laws.”

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals have already ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student in Virginia seeking to use the restroom consistent with his gender identity. On Tuesday, the court denied a request to reconsider the decision through “en banc” review before the full court.