U.S. District Judge William Campbell on Friday dismissed a lawsuit which sought to block Tennessee’s legislation requiring children use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological gender, determining courts have already determined the law is not discriminatory to men or women.
The litigation was launched in 2022 by an 8-year-old plaintiff named in the lawsuit as D.H., who is a biological male that identifies as a transgender female. The child’s mother accused Tennessee of legalizing “discrimination against helpless children” after the law was signed by Governor Bill Lee in 2021.
“I am embarrassed to say that I live in a state that refuses to see anything beyond my child’s gender. She is a bright, friendly, funny, creative, enthusiastic, little girl and is always the first kid to cheer you on if you are struggling. By filing this lawsuit, I am showing my volunteer spirit – because I’m fighting to not only affirm my child’s existence, but also the thousands of transgender and nonbinary children who live in Tennessee,” said the mother of D.H.
The lawsuit concluded on Friday, when The Associated Press reported Campbell ruled against D.H., determining “the Act and policy do not prefer one sex over the other, bestow benefits or burdens based on sex, or apply one rule for males and another for females.”
Campbell (pictured above) had previously dismissed Title IX elements of the lawsuits, the outlet explained, leaving D.H. with alleged claims under the Equal Protection Clause, which were then dismissed Friday.
D.H. was represented by The Human Rights Campaign (HRC). A lawyer representing the group reportedly called Campbell’s decision a “disappointing setback” and pledged to “continue to fight for Tennessee’s LGBTQ youth,” potentially indicating HRC plans to appeal the decision.
The same organization filed a similar lawsuit over the transgender bathroom law in 2021, but was forced to drop its litigation after the adolescent plaintiff and their family relocated outside of Tennessee.
Launched in 1984 to address problems affecting LGBTQ people, HRC now states on its website that it is “particularly interested in learning about discrimination in schools as well as discrimination in attempting to obtain health care, housing, or shelter because of an individual’s LGBTQ+ identity,” with the goal of provoking “systemic, structural, and institutional changes.”
The victory comes after a previous Tennessee bathroom law was tossed by the courts in 2021. That law sought to require building that allow individuals to use the restroom corresponding to their gender identity, and not their biological gender, to post signage informing members of the public.
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “William Campbell” by William Campbell.