Earlier today the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia heard arguments about Gavin Grimm's request to use the boys bathroom at school. Grimm and the ACLU are suing the Gloucester County School Board.

This has been going on for some time. Let us recap:

Grimm was assigned female at birth but was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in ninth grade. He started to live as a boy, and the school initially supported him by letting him use the boys' bathroom. Seven weeks later, parent complaints caused the school to reverse its decision — a move supported by the Gloucester school board. Grimm was required to use the girl's room, a unisex bathroom or special facilities.

It causes me a lot of discomfort. It’s very ‘othering.’ It sort of puts a magnifying glass on my already existing conflicts with my gender identity and physical sex.

i didn't set out to make waves. I just set out to use the bathroom.

--Grimm

Grimm and the ACLU filed a lawsuit last June over the district policy, which they alleged violated transgender students' rights. They also asked for an injunction to let Grimm use the boys' bathroom. U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar denied the injunction and dismissed part of the case in July, ruling that the district had not breached the Title IX anti-discrimination law. The ACLU then appealed and asked for a new judge, though Doumar hasn't ruled on whether the challenge that the school violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause can stand, the Daily Press reported.

All students have equal comparable restroom facilities. He is not being treated differently.

--School district attorney David Corrigan

Separate, but equal slides so easily out of Corrigan's mouth.

The U.S. Education Department and Justice Department both backed Grimm in October. If the appeals court decision is in Grimm's favor, transgender students across the country could have a legal precedent to point to in requesting access to certain bathrooms and locker rooms.

It will likely be a bellwether one way or another that people will look to in the immediate future to look to see where courts are headed.

--ACLU attorney Joshua Black

David Corrigan, an attorney for the school board, argued that the restroom policy is not discriminatory because anyone can use the alternative unisex restrooms.

"Our position is that all students are treated the same," he said.

Judge Andre Davis challenged Corrigan on that point, suggesting that "there's no stigmatizing impact" on anyone other than Grimm in having the private restroom as the only viable option.

It's the elephant in the room nobody talks about. In a way, that's worse.

--Grimm

The court probably won't rule in Grimm's case for months.