Speech
Outline/Rough Draft
Introduction:
Hook: While the Fourteenth Amendment provides equal protection to all, there is no federal
law that designates transgender individuals as a protected class. In fact, as of 2016 you could be
fired for being transgender in a whopping 26 states.
Topic: Recently, transgender rights have been a focal point for many political discussions, with
one of the more controversial topics being so called bathroom bills.
Thesis:
Topic: Almost exactly one year ago the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education
sent a letter to every single public school in the country announcing that transgender students
should be allowed to use whichever bathroom or locker room they want to, depending on their
gender identity.
Cover reasoning behind this decision with Title IX: "No person in the United States shall, on the
basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Aftermath: There was immediate backlash regarding the decision, in May 11 states threatened
to sue the Obama administration. Their reasoning being that it should be the states decision,
rather than the federal governments.
Topic: In February of this year the Trump Administration withdrew the protections put in place
protecting these rights.
Arguments: The backlash was not, of course, solely because of the belief that it shouldnt be a
federal decision. Many people believe that doing so would put people at risk of rape or assault
as allowing people to decide which restroom to use would not only apply to trans students.
Rebuttal: This is a possibility of course, but what people seem to be ignoring is that this has
always been a possibility. There is no way to prevent someone from entering whichever
bathroom they choose. Not only this but many European countries have had gender neutral
bathrooms for years
According to a 2013 survey done by the UCLA School of Laws Williams Institute, 70% of
transgender people have experienced some form of discrimination while using a public
restroom, from being denied access to physical and verbal assault. Another study by the same
group is currently investigating if allowing people to use whichever bathroom they choose leads
to more crimes by predators, with early indications that it doesnt.
Trans people have the right to feel comfortable and safe when using the restrooms as does
anyone else. Enforcing something that would require trans people to use the restroom that
correlates with their biological sex would do nothing but put them at further risk
Statistics on state laws concerning trans people:
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/equalitymap
https://www.aclu.org/map/non-discrimination-laws-state-state-information-map
http://www.hrc.org/state_maps
Title IX:
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/title-ix-frequently-asked-questions
Letter sent out under Obama Administration:
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-departments-education-and-justice-release-joint-
guidance-help-schools-ensure-civil-rights-transgender-students
pdf of letter: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201605-title-ix-
transgender.pdf
backlash:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/politics/doj-withdraws-federal-protections-on-transgender-
bathrooms-in-schools/
pros and cons:
http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-schools-have-gender-neutral-bathrooms-for-
transgender-students
http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-transgender-individuals-be-forced-to-use-a-particular-
bathroom
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gender-neutral-
bathrooms_us_56fd6ccbe4b083f5c607262c
http://time.com/4337761/history-sex-segregated-bathrooms/
****http://www.npr.org/2016/05/15/477954537/when-a-transgender-person-uses-a-public-
bathroom-who-is-at-risk
https://rampages.us/alexandrahofelich/2016/05/01/unit-3-essay-transgender-bathroom-
rights/
European bathrooms:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/05/24/conservative_groups_are_goading_politicia
ns_into_fighting_trans_bathroom.html
just lots of good stuff to add in later, revised version:
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/category/research/transgender-issues/
