Topline
A Utah judge on Friday temporarily blocked a state ban preventing transgender girls from participating in K-12 sports, as an increasing number of lawsuits have been filed in states across the country challenging similar laws.
A transgender rights advocate holds a sign outside the Ohio Statehouse.
Key Facts
Utah Judge Keith Kelly issued a preliminary injunction blocking the legislation Friday, calling it “plainly unfavorable treatment” for transgender girls.
The ruling came after three families representing transgender student-athletes filed a lawsuit challenging Utah’s ban on transgender girls’ sports participation—which became law after the state legislature overrode Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of the bill—last May, arguing it goes against Utah’s Constitution, which guarantees equal rights.
But with that block on hold, another process proposed by the state’s legislature will go into effect: A commission will decide which transgender athletes can participate in sports based on factors such as a player’s wingspan, weight and height, a measure stipulated in the original law, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Key Background
Bans on transgender athletes’ participation in sports have been challenged in several other states, including West Virginia, Indiana and Idaho. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked a West Virginia law that passed in April banning transgender women and girls from playing school sports. More than a dozen states in total have enacted some type of ban on transgender students’ sports participation, including Texas, Florida and Alabama, part of an effort spurred by Republican-led legislatures across the country. The debate about transgender athletes’ participation in sports has largely centered on transgender females, who critics claim have an unfair physical advantage compared to cisgender females because of physical traits spurred by testosterone production. The laws have sparked outrage from civil right groups, who argue they will isolate transgender girls and deny them critical social, physical and emotional benefits from participating in sports.
Tangent
Several professional sports leagues also have enacted bans preventing trans women from competing, or have created separate categories for trans athletes. The British Triathlon Federation became one of the latest sports to do so last month when it created an “Open” category for transgender and nonbinary people to compete in, while effectively barring them from a Female category reserved for those born female. The group argued transgender women have physiological advantages even after they begin to transition. The International Swimming Federation made a similar decision in June, while the International Rugby League barred trans women from competing in sanctioned women’s rugby matches the same month.
Further Reading
Transgender girls in Utah can compete again after judge grants injunction blocking state’s sports ban (Salt Lake Tribune)
Judge puts Utah ban on transgender kids in sports on hold (Associated Press)
Utah Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto of Transgender Athlete Bill (New York Times)
British Triathlon Latest To Limit Trans Athletes—Here Are The Major Sports Enacting Similar Bans (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/08/19/utah-judge-pauses-ban-on-transgender-girls-competing-in-school-sports/