A federal
judge in Connecticut has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the state’s policy
of allowing transgender girls to compete alongside cisgender girls in school
sports.
The
suit, filed in February 2020 in U.S. District Court in
Connecticut, asserted that letting trans girls compete against their cis counterparts
is a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law
banning sex discrimination in education, including school sports.
It was brought
by the parents of three cisgender female student athletes against the
Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic
Conference and the school boards in Bloomfield, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Canton,
and Danbury. The parents were represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom,
which has taken up many anti-LGBTQ+ causes, and the law firm of Fiorentino,
Howard, and Petrone.
It focused on
two trans student athletes who had won titles, Andraya Yearwood (pictured) and
Terry Miller. They were allowed to join in the defense of Connecticut’s
inclusive policies and were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
In the ruling issued Sunday, Judge Robert S. Chatigny said
the challenge is moot because Yearwood and Miller had graduated and the
plaintiffs could not identify other trans female athletes. He also noted,
“Courts across the country have consistently held that Title IX requires
schools to treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity.”
Bills to bar
trans student athletes from competing under their gender identity have been
introduced in numerous states across the nation and have passed in several.
Backers of such legislation contend that they’re trying to protect girls’
sports from domination by trans athletes, and they argue that trans girls have
an inherent and unfair advantage over cis girls (something disputed by
activists and scientists). However, most of these politicians could not cite
any instance of trans participation causing a problem in their state;
Connecticut was the only one they could point to where trans girls had won a
significant number of titles.
When Donald
Trump was president, the Department of Justice submitted a “statement of interest” in the case, weighing in on
the side of the parents who filed the suit and against trans inclusion. Under
President Joe Biden, the DOJ withdrew this statement.
The ACLU welcomed the ruling. “This is good news for
transgender students in Connecticut and around the country,” said a statement
released by Joshua Block, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV
Project. “[Sunday’s] ruling shows that allowing transgender students to fully
participate in school — including sports — is consistent with existing federal
law. This is yet another sign that lawmakers attacking trans youth in states
around the country have no legal basis for their claims. When Andraya and Terry
ran in high school, they belonged on the girls’ teams because they are girls.
They benefited from being on a team, working to better themselves and having an
escape from the rest of their days — the same things that anyone else benefits
from when playing sports. We will continue to fight against these attacks on
transgender youth wherever they come.”
“Transgender
youth, just like all other youth, belong in our schools and on our sports
teams,” added Elana Bildner, staff attorney for the ACLU of Connecticut. “Trans
students’ humanity, dignity, and ability to be full members of their school
communities should never be up for debate. Connecticut’s laws preventing
discrimination against transgender people and its policies preventing
discrimination against trans youth in school and sports are consistent with
federal law. The dismissal of this meritless lawsuit is a victory for trans
youth in Connecticut and across the country, and it would not have been possible
without incredible bravery from Andraya and Terry, who have carried more on
their shoulders as two Black trans youth than most adults face in a lifetime.”
The ADF
has vowed to appeal.
Bills to bar
trans student athletes from competing under their gender identity have been
part of a record number of anti-trans and more broadly anti-LGBTQ+ bills being
considered in state legislatures this year. Such bills have been signed into
law this year in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and most recently in Alabama. West Virginia’s governor is
expected to sign one, Montana’s governor is considering whether to sign one,
and executive orders to this effect have been issued by South Dakota’s
governor. The governors of Kansas and North Dakota have vetoed similar bills.
The National
Collegiate Athletic Association has warned it might not hold championships in
states with anti-trans laws. Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David has
called on the association to act now, as NCAA tournaments are scheduled to be
held in Alabama and Tennessee in less than three weeks. “The only way forward
to protect the people the NCAA works so hard to serve is by sanctioning the
states fueling hate and violence against our community,” David said in a Monday letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert and the
group’s board of governors.
SOURCE: ADVOCATE
That's a win! Good news for a change. Yay. Thanks for sharing.
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