When Minneapolis Southwest High School Librarian David Nielsen decided last fall to wear women’s clothing and use the name Debra Davis, at least one teacher questioned whether he or she should use the women’s restroom. Carla Cruzan filed a complaint in October 1998 with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, stating “I have a right to privacy and modesty which the school district must respect.”
On August 24, the American Center for Law and Justice, a Virginia Beach–based international public-interest law firm founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, sent a letter to the department on Cruzan’s behalf. The ACLJ asked for a prompt hearing on Cruzan’s claim and a ban on Davis’s use of the women’s restroom.
Davis is described as transgender, which usually applies to people who live and dress as the opposite sex but have not necessarily undergone a sex change. According to an August 25 Associated Press report, Minnesota is the only state that affords legal protection to transgendered individuals.
Posted August 30, 1999.