A federal judge has once again ruled against two transgender college students in Idaho who are trying to block a state law preventing them from using bathrooms aligning with their gender identity.
Idaho Federal District Judge David Nye denied another request to halt the law late last week.
Nye rejected the students’ request for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 23, saying they weren’t likely to succeed on the merits of the case. That’s because he wrote Idaho has an interest in protecting its citizens’ privacy and that the law mandates universities offer single occupancy restrooms as an alternative.
“Plaintiffs' arguments in their present motion mirror those previously before the Court,” wrote Nye. “They clearly disagree with the Court’s analysis, but they do not present any new or expanded caselaw or arguments that merit a departure from the Court’s prior reasoning or analysis.”
Passed earlier this year, House Bill 264 required colleges and universities, as well as prisons and domestic violence shelters, to limit access to shared restrooms and sleeping quarters based on a person's sex assigned at birth.
If the entity doesn’t take “reasonable steps” to enforce these restrictions, it could be sued in civil court.
The same attorneys representing the transgender college students in this case are also suing to block a similar law applying to K-12 public schools. The district court has also rejected motions for injunctions in that case.
The transgender college students have appealed the rejection of a preliminary injunction to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which shot down a similar request in the K-12 case in March.
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