Supreme Court to consider bans on trans athletes in school sports

The U S Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear two cases involving transgender youth challenging bans prohibiting them from participating in school sports In Little v Hecox plaintiffs represented by the ACLU Legal Voice and the law firm Cooley are challenging Idaho s ban which requires sex testing to adjudicate questions of an athlete s eligibility The th U S Circuit Court of Appeals described the process in a decision halting the protocol s enforcement pending an outcome in the litigation The sex dispute verification process whereby any individual can dispute the sex of any female learner athlete in the state of Idaho the court wrote would require her to undergo intrusive biological procedures to verify her sex including gynecological exams In West Virginia v B P J Lambda Legal the ACLU the ACLU of West Virginia and Cooley are representing a trans middle school attendee challenging the Mountain State s ban on trans athletes The plaintiff was participating in cross country when the law was passed taking puberty blockers that would have significantly reduced the chances that she could have a physiological advantage over cisgender peers Like any other educational undertaking school athletic programs should be accessible for everyone regardless of their sex or transgender status noted Joshua Block senior counsel for the ACLU s LGBTQ and HIV Project Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do to learn perseverance dedication teamwork and to totally have fun with their friends Block disclosed He added Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play Our client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers disclosed Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli Everyone understands the value of participating in group athletics for fitness leadership socialization and myriad other benefits Borelli continued The U S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last April issued a thoughtful and thorough ruling allowing B P J to continue participating in track events That well-reasoned decision should stand the test of time and we stand ready to defend it Shortly after taking control of both legislative chambers Republican members of Congress tried unsuccessfully to pass a national ban like those now enforced in states since The post Supreme Court to consider bans on trans athletes in school sports appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta