SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A judge on Wednesday denied Utah officials’ request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on transgender children wanting to participate in youth sports.
The ruling comes ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday, when Judge Keith Kelly will assess whether to temporarily suspend legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Congress this year.
Kelly determined that she had the legal standing to proceed with the lawsuit because she showed that the three transgender girls who filed the lawsuit were harmed by the law that went into effect on July 1.
Former state Supreme Court justice Thomas Lee, who was hired by the state to defend the ban, said at the hearing that the girls were merely “concerned bystanders” who were ineligible to sue. claimed, KUTV reported..
The parents of the three girls and their attorneys said in the lawsuit that the law violated state constitutions that prohibit discrimination and guarantee equal rights and due process while unfairly preventing their children from participating in sports. It claims that there are
The question of whether transgender girls should be allowed to participate in women’s sports has become a flashpoint across the country as Republican lawmakers passed a bill banning women from participating in sports. . Based on the premise, it gives them an unfair competitive advantage. I argue that it is a method.
Similar lawsuits are unfolding in Idaho, West Virginia and Indiana.
As of March, the Utah High School Activity Association knew of only one transgender girl playing in a K-12 sport affected by the ban. said there have been no public claims of competitive advantage for any of the state’s four transgender youth athletes.