Lawmaker Asks Attorney General To Weigh In On Transgender Bathroom Debate

WFSU | By Jim Ash

Published May 18, 2016 at 4:15 PM EDT

Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, is asking Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for legal ammunition to bar transgender students from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

UPDATE, 6:58 p.m.: Late Wednesday afternoon, a Bondi spokesman released a two-sentence letter addressed to Adkins denying the request.

"We do not issue opinions on federal law," the letter concludes. It is signed by Deputy Attorney General Kent Perez.

Original story: A Republican lawmaker from Fernandina Beach is asking Florida’s attorney general for legal ammunition to bar transgender students from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

House K-12 Subcommittee Chairwoman Janet Adkins is asking Attorney General Pam Bondi if recent Obama Administration Title IX guidelines violate states’ rights.

“I believe this guidance letter is a clear expansion of federal authority and appears on the surface to be an un-adopted federal rule that seeks to expand the powers of federal agencies.”

The ACLU is challenging a Marion County School Board rule restricting students to bathrooms corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates.

North Carolina is facing lawsuits and boycotts after passing a similar law.