SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa, January 11, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Texas senator Ted Cruz is doubling down on his criticisms of President Obama for suing schools that don't let boys use the same showers as girls.
According to video provided by NBC, Cruz addressed an effort by President Obama to “force a junior high to let a teenage boy shower with teenage girls,” which consists of a new interpretation of Title IX that says not allowing teenagers access to restrooms and other facilities restricted to the opposite gender is sex discrimination. The administration has filed lawsuits against at least two school districts, threatening to pull their federal education funding.
“Look, my five-year-old daughter, Catherine – she knows the difference between boys and girls,” said Cruz, who called the administration's effort “just nuts.”
“The school said, 'Can we at least put up a curtain?' Oh, no, no, no, you need to let that teenage boy in the shower,” said Cruz.
Cruz didn't name the school, but he appeared to be speaking about the Palatine, Illinois school district that recently caved to federal pressure when a male who identifies as female wanted to use female facilities. The school issued a statement claiming that the student agreed to use a curtain as part of the final agreement, but a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education said that part of the agreement was not binding.
A woman interrupted and described how a local school district was allowing a transgender student to use faculty restrooms. Cruz said, “Look, I don't know the facts of that, but I'll say that inflicting – inflicting him on the teachers is probably better than sticking him in the shower with the teenage girls.”
The comments aren't Cruz's first on the issue of transgender students and rights of privacy. He was criticized by PolitiFact Texas late last year for referring to students according to their actual genders (as opposed to the opposite gender, with which they claim to identify).
