Over 1,800 religious leaders declare their support for teen in transgender bathroom case

Over 1,800 religious leaders have joined a legal brief in support of a Virginia transgender student who wanted to use a school bathroom that corresponds to his gender identity.

Gavin Grimm, who was born a female but identify as male, filed a case against the Gloucester County School Board in 2015, alleging that its policy that barred him from using the boys' bathroom violated his civil rights.

A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Grimm last Spring, but the school district appealed to the Supreme Court. In August, the high court halted the lower court's order, allowing the school's policy to remain in place.

On Thursday, several amicus briefs in support of Grimm was sent to the Supreme Court. One of the legal briefs was signed by a number of leaders from Mainline American Christian denominations, including leaders in the Episcopal Church and United Church of Christ, according to The Christian Post.

Clergy members identifying with the Alliance of Baptists, American Baptist Churches USA or Cooperative Baptist Fellowship also joined the brief, which was filed by attorneys at the New York City-based law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel.

"A high school boy simply wanting to use the same restroom as his classmates at a public school poses no threat to anyone's religious exercise or expression," the brief stated, as reported by Baptist News Global. "Rather, these religious actors seek to enforce a kind of religious orthodoxy that rejects the fundamental existence and dignity of transgender persons," it continued.

Others who joined the brief include leaders of religious organizations such as The Jewish Theological Seminary, the Rabbinical Assembly, Unitarian Universalist Association, Covenant Network of Presbyterians, Methodist Federation for Social Action and other left-leaning religious institutions.

Legal briefs in support of the school board have also been filed by conservative groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the Family Research Council, the Liberty Council, the National Organization for Marriage, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and other organizations.

The brief filed by the ADF contended that the court has recognized that the management of school affairs should be left to the local school boards.

"We are therefore in full agreement with petitioners that local school boards must be permitted 'to establish and apply their curriculum in such a way as to transmit community values,' and that 'there is a legitimate and substantial community interest in promoting respect for authority and traditional values be they social, moral, or political,'" the ADF brief stated.

The Supreme Court is set to hear the oral arguments for the case on March 28. Last week, the school board sent a letter to the court, asking to postpone the case and wait until President Donald Trump's administration issues a new guidance on school bathrooms and locker rooms.