Eric Greitens knocks Chris Koster on bathroom policy

Democrat Chris Koster should have done more to stand up to President Barack Obama on the issue of transgender students’ access to public school bathrooms, a Republican candidate for Missouri governor said.

On Tuesday, Koster said Obama moved too quickly in issuing guidelines on bathroom use, adding that school districts need guidance from the courts. Once that happens, he said, school districts can develop their own policies.

Obama’s federal directive said public schools should allow transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities, not their sex at birth.

But Republican Eric Greitens, one of four leading candidate for the GOP nomination, said Koster didn’t go far enough.

“The idea that the federal government should dictate policies from Washington for every child and every family in every school bathroom in this country is an obscene overreach of federal power that must be stopped,” he said in a statement.

“Unlike Chris Koster, I believe the president's action was wrong, and I don't believe we must wait on a court in Virginia to rule before deciding what is best for Missouri children. Chris Koster refused to stand up to the president, and like a typical liberal career politician, he's hiding behind the courts. Once again, Chris Koster has decided to side with President Obama.”