Federal Court Throws Out Transgender Bathroom Rule

A federal appeals court has thrown out a rule at a Virginia high school that bars transgender students from using the boys' restrooms -- and the decision could have huge implications for the nationwide debate over the issue.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the policy, enacted by the Gloucester County School Board in Southeast Virginia, was discriminatory, according to the decision released April 19.

Gavin Grimm, who had been born female but now identifies as male, filed the lawsuit against the school after the board enacted a rule requiring students to use a public restroom that matches their birth gender.

It's a major ruling because it sets legal precedent not just for Virginia, but also for four other states in the 4th Circuit -- and one of those states is North Carolina, which made headlines this year by passing a state law requiring transgender students use the bathroom that corresponds to the sex listed on their birth certificate.

"We therefore conclude that the district court abused its discretion when it denied G.G.’s request for a preliminary injunction without considering G.G.’s proffered evidence," wrote Judge Henry Floyd. "We vacate the district court’s denial of G.G.’s motion for a preliminary injunction and remand the case to the district court for consideration of G.G.’s evidence in light of the evidentiary standards set forth herein."

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory will meet with attorneys to figure out what impact the ruling will have on their law, according to Beau Minnick, a reporter from North Carolina station WNCN.

The Democratic National Committee seized on the opportunity to slam the North Carolina law.

"This court victory affirms that there is no commonsense reason to bar transgender students from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity and that doing so is discriminatory and harmful," DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. "This ruling sets precedent in five states, including North Carolina, where Republican legislators and the Republican governor have embraced the exact type of discrimination that the court today has overruled."