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WICHITA FALLS, Texas, Nov. 23, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Texas Federal Judge Reed O'Connor denied requests from two federal executive branch departments to lift the ban on the Obama administration policy to allow so-called transgender public school students access to the bathrooms with which they self-identify.

In his ruling against the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, Judge O'Connor stated "the Court finds that Defendants failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success or irreparable harm sufficient to justify a partial stay of the Court's preliminary injunction." Connor wrote that the federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "sex"—the scope and meaning of which the federal government agencies claim now includes gender identity—were declared nearly 40 years ago. He referred specifically to the time gap between the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and this year, when the Obama administration announced its new transgender bathroom guidelines for public schools.

"We applaud Judge O'Connor's steadfast stand against the Obama administration attempts to impose its unlawful and harmful LGBT agenda on public schools," said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel's Founder and Chairman. "The Obama directive is a lawless act and defies common sense."

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.