WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down another major ruling affecting transgender individuals, specifically transgender athletes.
The justices upheld state bans against transgender girls and women from competing in female school sports in two states.
In the 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority argued bans in Idaho and West Virginia do not violate the U.S. Constitution or federal protections under Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
“They did what 9-out-of-10 of the electorate thinks they should have done,” said Congressman Dan Meuser, R-Pa., who applauded the court’s ruling. “You know, if somebody’s transgender, you feel sorry for them. You accommodate as much as you can, but not to the detriment of so many other people,” Meuser added.
The decision marks another legal setback for transgender Americans after several recent court decisions and executive actions from the Trump administration.
“I really feel for the families and those kids in states where their politicians are hostile to them. And I just want them to know that they will always be welcome in New York,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Critics of the ruling, including Ocasio-Cortez, say the mostly red-state bans are “driven by a desire to exclude” and a “desire for discrimination.”
“Let it be up to the institutions that are experts in this and how we litigate this as opposed to politicians that are not experts,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
“No kid — not my kid, not your kid, not any kid — deserves to be discriminated against. Yet this ruling is heartbreaking for transgender student athletes who are being forced to sit on the sidelines simply for who they are. When politicians convince the public that any girl could be ‘the wrong kind of girl,’ they invite harassment, intimidation, invasive questioning, or even an inspection of their body by a total stranger,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, in a press release.
More than two dozen Republican-led states have enacted similar laws. The decision could also strengthen Republican legislative efforts in other states, including Pennsylvania.
“We’re thrilled with the Supreme Court ruling that allows our state here in Pennsylvania the ability to protect our daughters,” said state Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Pa., who is among the state lawmakers leading the effort in the commonwealth.
But Owlett’s bill has not received a vote in the Democratic-controlled state House. However, he believes the Supreme Court decision can validate the decision of various local Pennsylvania school districts to uphold “female athletes’ right to compete for championships and medals at the local level.”
“A lot of our school districts are actually moving on this at the local level,” said Owlett, adding that the decision of some school districts to apply bans, but not others, has created confusion. Confusion- that Owlett believes- needs to be addressed by the governing body of school sports in the state, if legislation is not passed.
“That creates an inconsistency, though, with other school districts that are not doing that. So PIAA really does need to step up and make a decision on this that protects our female athletes’ rights for championships and to compete on an even playing field,” Owlett said.
Even with the ruling, the legal battle could be far from over, with ongoing challenges to policies in states that allow transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity.
