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Editorial: Blazing a trail

Unless one is accustomed to the role, it is not easy at the age of 25, 35, 45 and up to stand before a crowd of people, including policymakers, to speak on a controversial topic.

When the speaker is 15, stating that one is a transgender, born a female and self-identifying as a male, and asking to be free to use restroom facilities designated for boys, it must take a special dose of nerve.

Advocates for this Gloucester High School student define the bathroom question as a civil rights issue; thus this student is on the spearhead of a campaign that is new to Virginia, and promises to keep making news.

We give a special commendation to a brave young person who can withstand cheers and jeers not only of peers but also the scrutiny of older people to whom this issue seems very new and foreign.

We also commend members of the Gloucester School Board who have obviously given the matter much thought and have handled it with sensitivity and respect not only to the student but also to their c...

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