Judge Stops Idaho From Enacting Ban on Transgender Athletes

[howard97A]

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary injunction to stop Idaho from enacting a law banning transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports while a legal challenge moves forward.

The ruling means transgender athletes wanting to participate in sports that match their gender identity can do so this fall at the college and secondary school level, The Idaho Statesman reported.

U.S. District Judge David Nye in Idaho ruled that a preliminary injunction is warranted because the plaintiffs are likely to win in court as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the constitutionality of the law.

www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/08/17/us/ap-us-transgender-sports-ban-idaho-lawsuit.html

This is so depressing

It does not surprise me. The US is a very conservative country and trans is much easier to deal with than, say, gay. I am in NY. It horrifies me daily. But sadly no longer suprises me. Women and gay people are treated like absolute shit here.

I think your reasoning as to why the plaintiffs are likely to win is flawed. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on the grounds the law is unconstitutional.

The ACLU is not coming at this from a conservative basis

www.aclu.org/issues/lgbt-rights

www.aclu.org/

Your link is just going to homepage for me Dido please could you explain in your own words what you mean?

Whatever basis they're coming from, the outcome is likely to be that the rights and aspirations of women and girls are subordinated to the wishes of transwomen and transgirls.

The ACLU is not coming at this from a conservative basis no they are ultra woke, but the outcome is that women and homosexual people will suffer. It is regressive, but the woke don’t like to acknowledge that. It is the furthest thing from progress there is though isn’t it!

The confusion over conservative vs woke is solved by referring to the handy Venn diagram that explains surprising "alliances":

@Shesapunkpunk

Your link is just going to homepage for me Dido please could you explain in your own words what you mean?

ACLU is ultra woke. They are not remotely conservative.

ACLU has for example challenged the very restrictive abortion bills brought in by some states, including Idaho, on the basis of their being unconstitutional.

But the US is ultra conservative and as a previous poster highlighted, there is, unsurprisingly, a huge overlap. The US is right wing, even their left is our right. It just is. And hugely regressive.

My limited understanding is that it’s unconstitutional to discriminate under Title IX for Educational activities for both sex (“assigned sex” 😡) and gender identity/transgender status. Sex has been there for a while, gender stuff added by Obama.

I’d be grateful if anyone steeped in US federal law could explain how they decide when one is being used to discriminate against the other. Which trumps which?

@Shesapunkpunk

But the US is ultra conservative and as a previous poster highlighted, there is, unsurprisingly, a huge overlap. The US is right wing, even their left is our right. It just is. And hugely regressive.

You are missing the point in this particular legal challenge.

The challenge is not being brought from a conservative point of view, far from it, nor is the judge's decision being made from a conservative point of view. ACLU has successfully challenged restrictive abortion bills.

I see the point more to be about the dissonance the ACLU has.

They think they’re being liberal in a championing the right for males to compete in girls’ sport but they’re actually championing a conservative position that conforming to stereotypes is how people should be classified.

They think they’re being liberal in supporting a minority, but they’re actually taking a conservative position by championing an extension of rights for the male sex class, viewing them as more deserving than women and girls.

They have no insight whatsoever.

The Judge seems to think their lawsuit will win therefore it will need a young woman to file a lawsuit after, because I'm sure there will be a public opinion backlash when the implications of this become clear. The US will be asleep now, shame

Highname, there is a case going through the system at the moment (Miller and Yearwood, who have been smashing girls’ track records in Connecticut)

I'm not sure you can really understand this in terms of conservative vs woke, or progressive vs regressive.

The ACLU used to be none of those things, they supported even civil liberties issues that were quite unpopular among progressives if they dealt with civil liberties - like free speech for fascists of various kinds, for which they received all kinds of nasty flack from the left. They also supported things like access to contraception, or marriage rights for homosexuals. Their interests went across the political spectrum in a variety of directions.

I fist noticed them making strange decisions in terms of the various gay wedding cake controversies, where it seemed they were taking quite a different stance around questions of expression than they had in the past.

I see the point more to be about the dissonance the ACLU has.

^ This.

It makes me think of this:

but then so much does these days.

@howard97A

Highname, there is a case going through the system at the moment (Miller and Yearwood, who have been smashing girls’ track records in Connecticut)

Given they are different States and am not conversant with US law, would the challenge in Connecticut have any influence on Idaho?

Must admit, have a feeling there'll be a mass of challenges when parents get wind of the fact that their daughters will miss out

Would the challenge in Connecticut have any influence on Idaho?

It’s going through the federal courts, not the Connecticut state courts, so I assume that at some point there will be a judgment that binds all the states. Does this happen only when it gets to Supreme Court? IDK

It just seems so obviously wrong - I can’t understand how it’s become “progressive” in the USA to pretend that sport is about gender identity rather than bodies?? It makes no sense at all. Your gender identity does not kick a soccer ball, your testosterone-enhanced leg muscles do.

Also media portraying this as a “trans ban” when it’s not. Trans women can compete with their sex, as always.

I do personally think the Idaho law is slightly flawed using Birth Sex as the rule. While trans women should of course compete with their birth sex, Trans men should Be allowed to compete with men as well - just as any female athlete can choose the mens division in some sports (“open” division in effect). If they aren’t taking T then trans men can compete with women. I have mixed feelings about trans men who have had Elective mastectomies or Hysterectomies competing with women though.

The appeal has been launched because the new law can subject athletes to sex testing that could undermine an individual's privacy and civil rights. While I agree with single sex sports, Idaho may not have chosen the best way to enforce it.

In the USA, 'progressive' means whatever big corporations say it is.

Roughly-speaking, the law

• prevents transgirls from competing in girls’ sports

• allows people to challenge an athlete’s eligibility to compete in a girls-only event. It would then be incumbent on the athletes to verify their eligibility through an exam or genetic testing.

I agree the second provision is problematic. It could threaten girls’ privacy, and it enables ACLU to claim that they are acting to safeguard the rights of girls, not just the ‘rights’ of trans people.

Looking at the comments this is not going to end well.

That's women's sports stuffed, then. The USA have 3 years till the Olympics after Tokyo in which college coaches, seeing which way the wind is blowing, will pack their squads with transgirls, who will then progress on to national squads. Other countries (China, Russia, Australia) for whom sporting prowess on the world stage is an extention of nationalism will then follow suit so as not to be outdone in the medals tables.

RIP women's sports. I will remember the last 5 years or so fondly, as a halcyon period where it looked like we were finally beginning to be taken seriously.

I suppose there's always rhythmic gymnastics.