‘It’s About the Right for Transgender People to Exist in Public Spaces’
Gavin Grimm was poised to be the person to whose case would secure rights for all transgender people at the Supreme Court, but Monday morning the Supreme Court announced a different plan: not today. The Court rejected the appeal of Grimm’s case – he’s suing his school board for refusing to allow him to use the boys’ restroom, and forcing him to use a converted janitor’s closet.
Grimm is a high school senior, so any chance of his case being resolved before he graduates just ended. That’s a tough defeat for a teenager.
But on MSNBC Monday afternoon, Grimm appeared optimistic, determined, self-assured, well-spoken, bright, and sincere. Truly amazing for any teen on national TV, but more so for one who just suffered a major setback at the Supreme Court.
Grimm says he will continue fighting for as long as it takes. Â
Calling it “an obstacle we didn’t want,” Grimm told MSNBC he was “disappointed” when he heard the news from the Supreme Court today.Â
“I’m determined as ever to move forward and work through this process.” Grimm says he doesn’t think they are back to square one but that’s one for his lawyers.
He says today’s decision “has lit a fire” under him. “I’ll stay fighting ten more years if I have to.”
Grimm notes that the case really isn’t about bathrooms at all — “it’s about the right for transgender people to exist in public spaces.”
“If you don’t have a bathroom it’s very hard to exist in society and in public.”