On Feb. 22, President Donald Trump set up transgender students to suffer further discrimination when he decided to rescind existing protections for transgender students to use whichever bathroom matched their gender identity.

Trump’s previous statements in favor of gay and transgender rights lead many people to believe he would not attempt to get rid of protections already set in place. By making the choice to rescind these protections, he is sending a message to the LGBTQ community that they are no longer guaranteed certain rights.

Coverage of the aftermath of Trump’s decision has highlighted the rallies formed by gay rights activists against the stripping of transgender protections, but there are a few things that are not being addressed. Of course the rallies are interesting, but news sources should also focus on the issue alone.

One argument against the protections for transgender people is that men may pose as women in order to commit sexual assault in women’s bathrooms. Essentially this has led to the idea that transgender people are sexual predators, as well as members of the LGBTQ community being labeled as a danger to everyone who uses a public restroom.

Bathrooms in Canada have been unisex for some time and, according to The Huffington Post, there has only been one reported case of sexual assault inside of a unisex bathroom within the last 35 years. Men and women, regardless of their gender identity, have been sharing public bathrooms for over three decades with nearly no incident.

Since there is no solid evidence of transgender people being a danger to the public, it makes no sense that Trump would choose to remove the federal guidelines protecting them. It could be that he is abandoning his previous support of the LGBTQ community in order to comply with his conservative constituents, but according to an article on The New York Times website there has been a desire among members of the Republican Party to move away from social issues like the “bathroom debate.”

Regardless of what his reasoning may have been, Trump’s decision to rescind these protections has great potential to open transgender youth up to even more discrimination on top of what already exists and they are just trying to go to the bathroom in school.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos opposed Trump’s decision to take away federal transgender protections with a statement in which she urged schools to uphold their “moral obligation” to protect all students from “discrimination, bullying and harassment” according to The New York Times.

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo shared this sentiment when he made a statement the day after Trump’s decisio declaring that New York state schools must continue to enforce the Dignity for All Students Act.

Cuomo could just be looking to ensure the LGBTQ vote in the state elections, but that should not discredit the fact that he is publicly standing with transgender youth and promising them protection under state law.

Whether support is a pretense or not, hopefully more government officials and public figures will stand with transgender youth. This is a time when silence will not help transgender youth avoid shame and resentment for exercising their right to do what every human being must do on a regular basis: go to the loo.