Shooting in Michigan leaves 'numerous wounded victims,' authorities say
Several people have been wounded in a shooting at a splash pad in Rochester Hills, authorities said Saturday.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Virginia school board's appeal to reinstate its transgender bathroom ban, handing a victory to transgender rights groups and a former high school student who fought in court for six years to overturn the ban.
After learning that the high court refused to hear the board's appeal, Gavin Grimm, now 22, said that his long battle is over. “We won,” he tweeted. “Honored to have been part of this victory,” he added.
Grimm was a 15-year-old student at Gloucester High School when he was banned from using the boys bathroom. The Gloucester County School Board's policy required Grimm to use restrooms that corresponded with his biological sex - female - or private bathrooms. Grimm filed a federal lawsuit that wound its way through the courts for six years.
Grimm said that being forced to use the nurse's room, a private bathroom and the girl's restroom was humiliating and severely interfered with his education.
“Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials,” he said in a statement.
The Supreme Court left in place lower court rulings that found the policy unconstitutional. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas voted to hear the board's appeal.
David Corrigan, an attorney for the school board, declined to comment on the decision.
In its petition asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, the school board argued that its bathroom policy poses a “pressing federal question of national importance.”
The board argued previously that federal laws protect against discrimination based on sex, not gender identity. Because Grimm had not undergone sex-reassignment surgery and still had female genitalia, the board's position has been that he remained anatomically a female.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Grimm in his lawsuit, argued that federal law makes it clear transgender students are protected from discrimination. A U.S. District Court judge and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled that the board's policy violated Title IX, a federal civil rights law barring sex-based discrimination in any school that receives federal money. They also found it violated the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause by prohibiting Grimm from using the same restrooms as other boys and forcing him to use separate restrooms.
“This is the third time in recent years that the Supreme Court has allowed appeals court decisions in support of transgender students to stand. This is an incredible victory for Gavin and for transgender students around the country,” said Josh Block, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project.
The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear Grimm's case in 2017, but it was sent back to the lower courts after the Trump administration withdrew the government's support for Grimm's claims.
Paul D. Castillo, an attorney for the LGBT rights group Lambda Legal, said Monday that five states are technically bound by the 4th Circuit decision: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
But he said that it “would be hard to imagine a court that would not take this victory into account.”
“Importantly, decisions of federal appellate courts, particularly when denied review by the U.S. Supreme Court, are often cited in subsequent decisions for their persuasive value in analyzing the legal issues,” Castillo wrote in an email.
Lavoie reported from Richmond, Virginia. AP writer Ben Finley contributed from Norfolk, Virginia.
Several people have been wounded in a shooting at a splash pad in Rochester Hills, authorities said Saturday.
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
The owner of a northern Ont. camp is continuing to clean up after an intense storm that prompted a tornado warning Thursday ripped through the area breaking his dock and downing trees.
The City of Calgary declared a local state of emergency Saturday morning in response to the latest developments in a major water main break that is impacting the city.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has concerns with how conclusions were gathered in a spy watchdog report.
London put on a display of birthday pageantry Saturday for King Charles III, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales ' first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis early this year.
36-year-old Daniel Callihan was arrested Thursday after a 35-year-old mother was found dead and her two abducted daughters were later discovered in Mississippi – one dead and the other alive – in what investigators say may be a human trafficking case.
Vancouver police are warning the public that the man who stabbed a stranger in a downtown coffee shop in January 2022 has been released and will be living in the city again.
Late Friday afternoon, the City of Calgary held a media availability to deliver an update on the status of the 16 Avenue water main break that delivered shocking news.
Fancy Pokket owner Mike Timani has decided to create a 220-foot long flat bread to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
If certain goals that are in the Paris Climate Accord aren't met, the existence of polar bears in the Hudson Bay may come to an end.
In an attempt to invite one of the most popular recording artists in the world to the land of living skies – the City of Swift Current has offered to rename itself in honour of Taylor Swift.
More than a dozen dogs arrived by Cargojet early Thursday morning to the People for Animal Wellbeing Shelter to find a permanent place to call home in New Brunswick.
Peggy's Cove, N.S., is one of the most famous locations in the Maritimes. Recent visitors were treated to more than just the iconic landmark.
Hundreds of fans lined up to meet the Trailer Park Boys in Dartmouth, N.S., Tuesday, as Ricky, Bubbles and Julian promoted their new brand of potato chips.
Car break-ins plague Canadians across the country, but instead of worrying about theft, a northern Ontario woman is cleaning up a big mess that she says will not be covered by insurance after a black bear broke into her Honda Civic and took a nap.
Members of a Hutterite colony in southern Alberta have potentially built the world's tallest structure made of Popsicle sticks.
A dog who spent the first three-and-a-half years of his life suffering and almost a year at a shelter has found his forever home, according to the BC SPCA.