LGBTQ+ rights remain uncertain after the Supreme Court puts off the hearing of a transgender boy’s case regarding whether he could use the boy’s bathroom at his school in Virginia.

Even though the Supreme Court agreed to take Gavin Grimm’s case in October, on March 6 the justices asked an appeals court in Virginia to rethink Gavin Grimm’s case, which is centered around his being refused to use the boy’s bathroom at his school.

Earlier in the year, President Trump revoked a set of protections for transgender students that allowed them to use the bathroom of the gender that they identify with, leaving the decision to individual schools and states.

The Obama administration originally protected transgender rights, so the court of appeals had ruled in favor of Grimm, but since Trump’s revocation of those protections, there has been uncertainty about the legitimacy of the ruling.

Some of the members in Trump’s administration, most notably Vice President Mike Pence, have records of opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, although there is no evidence that Trump is personally hostile toward the LGBTQ+ community.

“I guess what we’re trying to get him to understand is that we are an important part of the fabric of this nation, that human compassion should be influencing him to look out for all of the young people in our community,” Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) advisor Abel Olivas said. “There’s a whole important diversity in this country that needs to be respected and supported and nurtured.”

Since Trump’s inauguration, there have been protests for LGBTQ+ rights in cities such as Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

“I would tell Trump to stop doing what he’s doing and take a look at the bigger picture because these are real people, there are real lives being affected, and there are real people—real kids, even—getting scared about the world that they live in,” GSA member Amla Rashingkar said. “That’s not okay, and he really needs to realize that.”

How to Get Involved

The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA)  at the upper school is a club that students can join to support LGBTQ+ rights and to help spread awareness by fundraising for local support groups or by inviting speakers to come present at upper school assemblies.

“I think the visibility of support just helps LGBT kids feel like they’re in a safe, comfortable, affirming environment,” Olivas said.

There are also volunteer opportunities with support groups such as LGBTQ Youth Space, a LGBTQ+ support community, and Outlet Youth group, an organization that provides both counseling services and peer support groups.

This week is GSA club week, and they will be selling food in front of Manzanita to fundraise and spread awareness.