Supreme Court to Hear Transgender Bathroom Case Involving Virginia Student

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of a transgender high school student in Virginia who wants to use the boys' bathroom, according to multiple reports.

It will be the first time the Supreme Court has considered the question of transgender use of bathrooms, which has become a hot-button issue in the last year and led to a controversial law in North Carolina that banned people from using bathrooms that weren't associated with their birth genders. The U.S. Justice Department has filed a civil rights suit against that law.

The case that will go before the Supreme Court concerns Gavin Grimm, a transgender student in Gloucester County. The 17-year-old said he wanted to use the boys' bathroom even though his birth certificate indicates that he is a female. He transition to being a male and legally changed his name, and although the school initially allowed him to use the boys' room, officials changed their minds later.

It promises to be a closely watched Supreme Court case, and with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia leaving one seat open on the bench that Republicans have blocked President Obama from filling, it's a case that could end up deadlocked.

Proponents of transgender bathroom laws say that it protects children from potential sexual predators. Opponents say there is absolutely no evidence that this is a legitimate concern, and such laws tramples on the rights of transgender individuals.

The Obama administration says that transgender bathroom laws violate Title IX, a federal law that bans discrimination in schools based on sex.

Image via Wikimedia user Chris Potter