In May 2014 Gloucester High School’s transgender student, Gavin Grimm was told he could no longer use the men’s bathroom in his school, which led him to sue the school district in 2015 and that is when the controversy of transgender people using the bathroom of their choice began.

This was the start of the controversy in the Supreme Court, which Grimm did not expect. The issue turned into a national debate on if transgender students should be able to use the bathroom of the gender they identify by.

As a result, before President Barack Obama set out to protect the well-being of transgender students who go to public schools to use the facilities of their gender identity. This was a major victory for not only the transgender community but everyone who is involved in the LGBTQ+ community.

Though Grimm never set out to cause this national tug-of-war, he just wanted to use the bathroom where he felt comfortable.

The controversy of state law versus federal law has continued into Donald Trump’s presidency. According to NPR, “The president has made it clear throughout the campaign that he’s a firm believer in states’ rights and that certain issues like this are not best dealt with at the federal level,” said White House spokesman Sean Spicer. It caused an uproar in the LGBTQ+ community making them rebel against the possible POTUS.

Charlie Cote, a student of Southern State University, who recently started to transition says, “It’s a civil right, when has somebody else stopped females from going into the men’s bathroom when the line is too long? How is that different when it comes to transgender people? It wouldn’t make sense and it isn’t exactly fair.”

Cote has also responded to President Trump’s reversal by saying,  “It shouldn’t be state’s choice just like every other civil right, it should be federal legislature. Imagine if we had segregation in some states or women not being able to vote in some states. It wouldn’t make any sense.”

How does the law reversal effect the transgender community? Are they going to protest to get their rights back so they are able to use the bathroom of their comfort zone? Cote says “The law reversal makes the community feel like they aren’t safe here. The government isn’t granting us civil liberties, so it makes us on edge and worried about the future.”

Grimm did not mean to start the bathroom controversy, but the trans community is happy that he did and happy that more people are aware of the fear and trouble they need to go through to feel comfortable living amongst other civilians.