A transgender man has emerged victorious following a years-long case over whether trans students should be able to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
Back in 2014, now-22-year-old Gavin Grimm, who was then a high school student, challenged the local school board in Gloucester County, Virginia, which had ruled that he could not use the male restroom as he was assigned female at birth, CNN reports.
In June 2015, Grimm, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the school board, arguing that the policy violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.
After years of back and forth legal disputes, Grimm, along with the rest of the LGBTQ+ community, won the case.
On Monday, June 28, the Supreme Court upheld a decision that allows trans students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. In doing so, it rejected a request from the school board to reinstate the policy that barred Grimm from using the male bathroom.
The 22-year-old said in a statement, per CNN: "I am glad that my years-long fight to have my school see me for who I am is over.
"Being forced to use the nurse's room, a private bathroom, and the girl's room was humiliating for me, and having to go to out-of-the-way bathrooms severely interfered with my education.
"Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials."
In an interview with BuzzFeed News, he reflected back on the lawsuit in which he played a vital part at a very young age.
He said: "What an ugly horrible world we live in that, that happened to a child. What a nightmare it is that this child has now become the mouthpiece of a movement countering hatred against his very personhood, the validity of his happiness and joy and who he is."
The activist also took to Twitter to share his joy at the outcome of the case and to thank those who made it possible.
He tweeted: "I was barred from the bathroom at my high school 7 years ago, when I was 15. 6 years ago, at 16, myself with the @ACLU / @ACLUVA filed suit in response to that discrimination. Twice since I have enjoyed victories in court, and now it's over. We won."
Grimm added: "There are just too many people to tag. Too many people played integral roles in our success and too many people who loved me so much. I have nothing more to say but thank you, thank you, thank you. Honored to have been part of this victory."
