Obama To Speak On New Transgender Bathroom Guidelines In Public Schools

On Tuesday, President Obama is expected to give his first public comments since issuing new guidelines on transgender bathroom use in public schools.

The issue has sparked protests across the country, and many Oklahoma officials have voiced their opinions.

In North Carolina though, demonstrators against the state's public bathroom law took over the capitol building on Monday. Many were led away in handcuffs. The new law requires people to use the restroom to the gender on their birth certificates.

Last week, the Obama administration directed public schools to give transgender students access to bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. In an interview with Buzzfeed, the President said the rules are designed to protect transgender students.

"I think that it is part of our obligation as a society to make sure that everybody is treated fairly, and our kids are all loved and that they're protected and that their dignity is affirmed," President Obama said.

State superintendent Joy Hofmeister has called the rules a "gross over reach" by the federal government. And Senator James Lankford has said the president is, "Making up laws out of thin air."