Leaders in at least a dozen states are refusing to implement guidelines from the federal government which threaten to withhold federal funding for schools that refuse to allow students to use the bath/locker room that corresponds to their gender identity.

LifeSiteNews is reporting on the rebellion taking place in an increasing number of states where governors, attorneys general, school officials, and incensed parents are refusing to place children at risk by implementing the recommended guidelines.

At the forefront of the dispute is North Carolina whose Lt. Gov. Dan Forest called the policy “an invitation for violations of privacy and personal safety.”

“North Carolina public schools in receipt of the president’s letter are reminded that there is a binding state law on the books governing bathroom policy and the president’s non-binding directive is merely his attempt to push his version of a social policy on our state with no Constitutional authority to do so. It should be rejected as a matter of principle and policy,” Lt. Gov. Forest said in a statement.

“I do not think it is appropriate for teenage boys and girls to share the same bathroom. I don’t think it is appropriate for male coaches and male teachers to have access to girls’ locker rooms and showers while the young girls are naked and exposed,” he continued.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has also said that he would rather give up $10 billion in education funding – much of it used for the free breakfast and lunch program – to protect students’ privacy.

“Mississippi’s public schools should not participate in the president’s social experiment,” said Gov. Phil Bryant, because “these decisions are better left to the states, and not made at the point of a federal bayonet.”

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin also told administrators in the state’s public schools that they “should not feel compelled to bow to such intimidation.”

Utah’s Gov. Gary Herbert said, “Schools are the domain of state and local government, not our nation’s president. Unfortunately, this is exactly what I have come to expect from the Obama administration. If we have to fight this order, we will not hesitate to do so.”

As a result, the sate’s Board of Education Chair, David Crandall, has advised school districts not to implement any policy changes in lieu of a more concrete court order or binding legislation.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson called the government’s guidance “offensive, intrusive and totally lacking in common sense.”

“There is no recognizable problem in Arkansas on this issue. The federal government is stirring the pot and meddling in the local control and administration of our schools,” Gov. Hutchinson said in a statement.

“As Governor, I recommend that local school districts disregard the latest attempt at social engineering by the federal government and continue to use common sense to ensure a safe and healthy environment in Arkansas schools. While the letter implies federal money could be withheld, the letter is nothing more than guidance and is not legally binding.”

Alabama’s Attorney General Luther Strange promised that “if the Obama administration tries to enforce this absurd edict, I will work with other Attorneys General to challenge it.”

Scott Pruitt, Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma, wrote a letter to the Obama administration on Friday afternoon in which he vehemently denounced the guidelines.

“ . . . [Y]ou have forced this definition on parents, students, and communities because you have deemed unjustifiable any discomfort that they may express. Your determination thus elevates the status of transgender students over those who would define their sex based on biology and who would seek to have their definition honored in the most private of places. Indeed, those latter students and their families cannot even seek reassurance that a transgender student’s self-definition is not premised on whim or caprice because you have disavowed the school’s ability to seek any form of documentation regarding the transgender child’s self-definition. Not only does this ‘significant guidance letter’ attempt to redefine for all Americans their most fundamental beliefs about who they are, it compels schools to join with you in enforcing this new definition.”

He continued: “We believe that your actions today are unlawful and that they represent the most egregious administrative overreach to date. You have taken a public policy issue that must, by our constitutional design, be worked out in the laboratory of democracy and enforced it on all people. And you have done so through a misuse of the spending power. Please be advised that if you attempt to enforce this ‘significant guidance letter’ on schools in the State of Oklahoma, we will vigorously defend the State’s interests.”

One such state AG, Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma, wrote a letter to the Obama administration Friday afternoon shortly after the guidelines became public, saying he would “vigorously defend the state’s” commonsense solution.

Other states who are fighting these dangerous new bathroom laws include Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska and West Virginia.

Leaders in the states of Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa say the decision should be left to local leaders while Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Haslam called the guidelines “heavy-handed.”

Meanwhile, thousands of concerned citizens have signed onto a new petition drive hosted by LifeSiteNews asking the president to “withdraw this guidance, stop unilaterally rewriting the law, and ensure that all students enjoy the safety and privacy they so richly deserve – and which you are legally obligated to provide.”

Click here to add your voice!