A federal judge on Monday blocked a first-of-its-kind Idaho law that prevents biological males who identify as female from playing on girls’ or women’s teams, saying the new law is likely unconstitutional.
At issue is the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was signed into law this year and requires biological sex – and not gender identity – to be used in determining who plays on high school and college teams.
U.S. District Judge David C. Nye, in an 87-page opinion, issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law and asserting that plaintiffs “likely” will “succeed in establishing the Act is unconstitutional as currently written.”
The act was passed after two transgender athletes in Connecticut who are biologically male but identify as female won 15 girls’ state track titles. Legislators hoped to prevent a similar controversy occurring in Idaho.
Nye noted that the NCAA (which governs college athletics) and the IHSAA (which governs Idaho high school sports) require biological males to undergo one year of hormone suppression before competing as a female. That requirement, he indicated, is significant when examining the law’s constitutionality.
“Notably, unlike the IHSAA and NCAA rules in place in Idaho before the Act, Connecticut does not require a transgender woman athlete to suppress her testosterone for any time prior to competing…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.