President Barack Obama speaks about transgender-friendly bathroom policies

President Barack Obama has spoken about the guidelines regarding LGBT-friendly bathroom policies that was issued to public schools in the United States on Friday.

"We're talking about kids," the president said on Monday during an interview with BuzzFeed News. "Anybody who has been in school, in high school, who has been a parent should realize that kids who are sometimes in the minority, kids who have a different sexual orientation or are transgender are subject to a lot of bullying, potentially. They're vulnerable."

On May 13, public schools received a letter from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights that gives schools guidance on how to address transgenders in the campus. It says that it does not add anything to what is already written the law, but it "provides information and examples to inform recipients about how the Departments evaluate whether covered entities are complying with their legal obligations."

Among the items in the letter are definitions of terms, namely gender identity, sex assignment at birth, transgender, and gender transition. It specifies that school staff and contractors must address transgenders using names and pronouns based on the student's gender identity. Moreover, students must be allowed to use restrooms and other similar facilities consistent with the gender they identify with rather than the one that is written on their birth certificates.

"A school may provide separate facilities on the basis of sex, but must allow transgender students access to such facilities consistent with their gender identity," the letter reads. "A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so. A school may, however, make individual-user options available to all students who voluntarily seek additional privacy."

This is in high contrast to the stance of some government officials, particularly those in North Carolina. The state has had its fair share of critics because of its bathroom law that prohibit people from using restrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities that do not correspond with their sex at birth. The Department of Justice has given North Carolina a deadline to comply with LGBT-friendly bathroom policies, saying that the state's law is a violation of federal civil rights laws.

NC Gov. Pat McCrory sued Attorney General Loretta Lynch and U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for "radical reinterpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which would prevent plaintiffs from protecting the bodily privacy rights of state employees while accommodating the needs of transgendered state employees." The DOJ had responded by likewise taking legal action against the state.

While refusing to comment on the lawsuits, Obama said, "I think it's part of our obligation as a society to make sure everybody is treated fairly and our kids are all loved and protected."