ElNono
07-22-2021, 12:46 AM
Judge halts West Virginia law targeting transgender athletes
A federal judge decided Wednesday to temporarily block a West Virginia law that bars transgender women and girls from participating on school sports teams that match their gender identity.
The lawsuit (http://www.aclu.org/legal-document/bpj-v-west-virginia-state-board-education-complaint) was filed on behalf of 11-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, a soon-to-be middle schooler looking to try out for her school's girls cross-country team. Lawyers on behalf of Pepper-Jackson argued the West Virginia law discriminates on the "basis of sex" and "transgender status," violating both the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, a federal education law that prevents sex-based discrimination.
“While this case is pending, Defendants are enjoined from enforcing Section 18-2-25d against B.P.J.” Southern District of West Virginia Judge Joseph R. Goodwin wrote (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wvsd.231947/gov.uscourts.wvsd.231947.67.0.pdf). “She will be permitted to sign up for and participate in school athletics in the same way as her girl classmates.”
They asked the judge for a preliminary injunction because cross-country team practices start this month. The law took effect on July 1, and the principal of Bridgeport Middle School, where Pepper-Jackson will be attending, told the girl's mother in May that the law would bar her from participating on the girls team in the fall.
“I am excited to know that I will be able to try out for the girls cross-country team and follow in the running shoes of my family,” Pepper-Jackson said in a statement. “It hurt that the State of West Virginia would try to block me from pursuing my dreams. I just want to play.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/21/judge-halts-west-virginia-law-targeting-transgender-athletes-500494
A federal judge decided Wednesday to temporarily block a West Virginia law that bars transgender women and girls from participating on school sports teams that match their gender identity.
The lawsuit (http://www.aclu.org/legal-document/bpj-v-west-virginia-state-board-education-complaint) was filed on behalf of 11-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, a soon-to-be middle schooler looking to try out for her school's girls cross-country team. Lawyers on behalf of Pepper-Jackson argued the West Virginia law discriminates on the "basis of sex" and "transgender status," violating both the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, a federal education law that prevents sex-based discrimination.
“While this case is pending, Defendants are enjoined from enforcing Section 18-2-25d against B.P.J.” Southern District of West Virginia Judge Joseph R. Goodwin wrote (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wvsd.231947/gov.uscourts.wvsd.231947.67.0.pdf). “She will be permitted to sign up for and participate in school athletics in the same way as her girl classmates.”
They asked the judge for a preliminary injunction because cross-country team practices start this month. The law took effect on July 1, and the principal of Bridgeport Middle School, where Pepper-Jackson will be attending, told the girl's mother in May that the law would bar her from participating on the girls team in the fall.
“I am excited to know that I will be able to try out for the girls cross-country team and follow in the running shoes of my family,” Pepper-Jackson said in a statement. “It hurt that the State of West Virginia would try to block me from pursuing my dreams. I just want to play.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/21/judge-halts-west-virginia-law-targeting-transgender-athletes-500494