In a landmark victory for transgender rights, the U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear the case of Gavin Grimm, a former high school student who sued his local school district over its policy forcing him to use a separate, single-stall restroom that no other student was required to use. The court’s move lets stand a lower court’s ruling that policies segregating trans students from their peers are unconstitutional. Gavin Grimm spoke to Democracy Now! in 2017.

Gavin Grimm: “When you are in an environment where you’re not being affirmed, and when you’re being separated and kept apart from your peers, not only does that send a very negative message to you, but it sends a very negative message to your peers and kind of conveys a precedent for how they’ll treat you. So I think it’s very important that we talk about rights of bathroom usage for trans youth, especially because if you can’t use a bathroom, you can’t participate in public life. And that’s really what’s at the center of this.”