Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Education Department Opens Pandora’s Box for Anti-Straight Discrimination
Townhall.com ^ | June 22, 2021 | Adam Kissel

Posted on 06/22/2021 5:23:57 AM PDT by Kaslin

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education just announced it is interpreting Title IX, which bans discrimination on the basis of sex at federally funded schools and colleges, to include sexual preference and gender identity. This will lead to unintended consequences because many pro-gay programs explicitly discriminate against people who are straight.

We already know that it is discrimination when an all-girls club excludes boys. A reasonable boy knows that Girls Who Code is not open to him, and OCR has agreed and required such programs to stop discriminating.

Likewise, advertising a third-party scholarship that is only for women and not men violates Title IX. OCR has agreed and has required colleges to remove such listings from their websites.

It doesn’t matter that colleges mean well or cite national statistics about gender disparities. Discrimination without a compelling justification and narrowly tailored solution violates the law. In Podberesky v. Kirwan(1994), for instance, the Fourth Circuit invalidated a blacks-only scholarship because the university couldn’t show it had narrowly tailored its reverse discrimination or that it had discriminated for acceptable reasons.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education just announced it is interpreting Title IX, which bans discrimination on the basis of sex at federally funded schools and colleges, to include sexual preference and gender identity. This will lead to unintended consequences because many pro-gay programs explicitly discriminate against people who are straight.

We already know that it is discrimination when an all-girls club excludes boys. A reasonable boy knows that Girls Who Code is not open to him, and OCR has agreed and required such programs to stop discriminating.

Likewise, advertising a third-party scholarship that is only for women and not men violates Title IX. OCR has agreed and has required colleges to remove such listings from their websites.

It doesn’t matter that colleges mean well or cite national statistics about gender disparities. Discrimination without a compelling justification and narrowly tailored solution violates the law. In Podberesky v. Kirwan(1994), for instance, the Fourth Circuit invalidated a blacks-only scholarship because the university couldn’t show it had narrowly tailored its reverse discrimination or that it had discriminated for acceptable reasons.

Too much time has passed since Bostock, fully a year ago, for OCR to claim any emergency justification for changing the rules and avoiding public comment. We might expect a lawsuit against OCR when a university gets in trouble under the new interpretation.

But let’s see what else happens if OCR’s interpretation holds sway. Colleges that recognize clubs or have “safe spaces” for non-straight students now must ensure that they enact and effectively communicate nondiscrimination. It is not enough to have a blanket nondiscrimination statement on the college website, because a reasonable person looks at “LGBT Club” or “LGBT Center” and knows who is included and who is excluded.

Campus lawyers need to get the language and activities right, case by case, so that each program is offered equitably to all. If not, they should get ready to receive Title IX complaints.

And we haven’t even discussed all the trouble OCR has caused itself in the areas of sports, locker rooms, bathrooms, and so on.

Now that OCR has announced it will fight discrimination in the areas of sexual preference and gender identity, it must fight this discrimination in all its forms. That means stopping anti-straight as well as anti-gay discrimination. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: discrimination; doe; woke

1 posted on 06/22/2021 5:23:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

He’s assuming the law is equally applied. It’s not.


2 posted on 06/22/2021 5:34:26 AM PDT by HarleyD (Dr E-"There are very few shades of grey.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

You posted two set of the same paragraphs

You posted two set of the same paragraphs


3 posted on 06/22/2021 6:09:32 AM PDT by Pollard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Microsoft has a Women In Technology group

https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/community/wit

Where is their Men’s Administrative Assistant group?

They don’t have one???

SEXIST!!!


4 posted on 06/22/2021 7:36:36 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (I'm changing my name to 'Spike Protein'!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I identify as a homosexual, and my wife agrees. Do I get the LGBTQWERTY Scholarship now?


5 posted on 06/22/2021 7:38:30 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (I'm changing my name to 'Spike Protein'!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson