A member of the Delta County School
Board in Colorado has defended criticizing a proposed policy which
seeks to protect transgender students.
During the board's October meeting,
Katherine Svenson cited laws in California and Massachusetts that
allow transgender students access to the restroom of their choice.
After passing out to members an issue
of the Education Reporter, a publication of the Christian
conservative Eagle Forum, Svenson said: “I would like to pass out
something that shows people what is going on in the rest of the
country. Massachusetts and California have passed laws relating to
calling a student, irrespective of his biological gender, letting him
perform as the gender he thinks he is, or she is. I just want to
emphasize: Not in this district. Not until the plumbing's changed.
There would have to be castration in order to pass something like
that around here.”
Svenson's comments provoked a backlash.
But in an interview with CBS
affiliate Newschannel 5, Svenson stood her ground.
“I don't have a problem if some boys
think they are girls,” she said. “I'm just saying as long as
they can impregnate a woman, they're not going to go in [the] girls
locker rooms.”
Assistant superintendent Kurt Clay told
the television station that he disagreed with the Svenson's views.
“We truly believe in Delta County
School District that every student has different needs,” Clay said.
“And that we are here to address those individual needs.”