Latest news with #GLADLaw
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawyers look to have Trump dropped from NH transgender sports ban lawsuit
Attorneys for the Trump administration have filed a motion seeking to be dropped from a lawsuit filed by two transgender teens fighting a New Hampshire law and a presidential executive order banning them from playing girls school sports. The families of Parker Tirrell, 16, and Iris Turmelle, 14, and the civil rights advocates representing them filed a motion in February in U.S. District Court in Concord to expand their lawsuit to challenge President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes from playing in girls and women's sports. In a motion filed Friday, Deputy Associate Attorney General Richard Lawson argued attorneys for Tirrell and Turmelle — following months of litigation challenging state law — are now attempting to 'drag the federal government into a lawsuit well under way not because of any imminent injury, but because of a generalized grievance with policies set by the President of the United States.' GLAD Law and the ACLU of New Hampshire are representing Tirrell and Turmelle, who sued state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, members of the State Board of Education and the students' respective school districts in August. The case challenges HB 1205, also known as the 'Fairness in Women's Sports Act,' signed into law last July. The law requires athletes in grades 5-12 to play on interscholastic or club teams matching the sex on their birth certificates. In September, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty blocked enforcement of the law while it is being challenged in court. Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 5 called 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' to bar transgender girls and women from playing in girls and women's sports. Just two days after attorneys for Tirrell and Turmelle filed their motion to add Trump as a defendant in their lawsuit, the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association told schools to abide by the order, saying in a news release that noncompliance could lead to 'possible consequences to federal funding.' In the motion filed Friday, Lawson argued attorneys for Tirrell and Turmelle failed to claim the federal defendants have taken 'a single action' to implement the executive order against the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs' schools, or 'even in the state of New Hampshire.' 'What's worse, plaintiffs' attempts to rope the federal defendants into this case are based on flawed understanding of Equal Protection law' and separation of powers, the motion states. 'Plaintiffs lack constitutional standing and their stated speculative risk of future injury is not close to imminent and may never become ripe,' Lawson argued in his motion. The motion asks the judge to dismiss the claims against Trump, the justice and education departments and department heads. 'Plaintiffs assert a Fifth Amendment equal protection claim alleging that the 'Sports Order' impermissibly discriminates 'on the basis of sex,'' Lawson wrote, adding the plaintiffs also argued the order discriminates based on 'transgender status.' 'The Sports Order simply reaffirms that males and females are not similarly situated when it comes to sports,' Lawson wrote. 'The Supreme Court recognizes that 'differences between men and women' are 'enduring' and thus sex is not an inherently 'proscribed classification.' The biological differences between the sexes make them dissimilarly situated in sports, with males having a distinct physical advantage.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Committee discussion on trans student rights highlights questionable interpretation of Title IX
A transgender student who asked not to be identified stands outside the hearing room of the Judiciary Committee in the State House in Augusta. The committee held hearings on proposed bills to restrict transgender rights on May 8, 2025. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Lawmakers who heard hours of public testimony on transgender rights in schools were divided on whether transgender girls should be allowed to compete on girls' sports teams. But they overwhelmingly rejected broader efforts to roll back rights for transgender students, including bills that would restrict pronoun use or remove gender identity as a protected class under Maine law. The legislative debate unfolded amid national attention, fueled by President Donald Trump's administration claiming that Maine is violating Title IX — the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education — by allowing trans girls to compete in girls' sports. The discussion included how the proposed bills would impact the state's compliance with Title IX, with several legal experts explaining to committee members Tuesday that affirming trans students is not a violation of federal law, despite the administration's interpretation and threats. Transgender teens and allies crowd State House to fight anti-trans bills To what extent Title IX protects trans students' rights in schools per legal precedent is unclear, according to Mary Bonauto, acclaimed civil rights attorney and senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLAD Law. 'I think this raises the bigger issue, which is what constitutes sex discrimination, and is it sex discrimination to exclude a transgender student from a meaningful opportunity for girls and young women,' she said. She pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that discrimination based on sexual orientation or transgender status is inherently rooted in sex, and therefore violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which is related to employment law. 'When you want to forbid somebody from participating in sports…because they're transgender, the first thing you're thinking about is their sex,' she said. 'You essentially, at that point, are penalizing somebody for a trait or action that would be acceptable if they were the other sex.' Bonauto noted that while Bostock applied to employment law, its reasoning has significant implications for education law under Title IX. Alternately, Erica O'Connell from the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom told the committee that Bostock decision can't be applied to Title IX directly, because girls have been historically discriminated against, and allowing trans athletes to participate in girls' sports takes away opportunities from cisgender girls. 'One boy taking a part on a team that belongs to a girl, is eroding that equal protection in education,' she said. Judiciary Committee members were split on that issue, with a 6-6 vote on two bills restricting the rights of trans athletes — LD 233 and LD 1134. These bills would cut funding to school districts that allowed trans girls to participate on girls teams and use school facilities aligned with their gender identity, including bathrooms and locker rooms. Rep. Dani O'Hallaran (D-Brewer) broke from the Democrats on those bills, although she voted against all other anti-trans legislation. Debate centers on fairness and safety during hearing on transgender sports bills 'You're making a choice to transition. And I'm struggling to understand why that person's choice has the ability to take away a right position from a biological girl,' she said. 'To me, in some sense .. I guess the phrase is 'you can't have it all.'' A third bill, LD 868, proposing co-ed teams as an alternative for trans students was defeated 7-5, but O'Hallaran said she would have voted in favor of the bill if it was amended. Other Democratic lawmakers on the committee raised concerns about the lack of options for trans students, and the dangerous precedent these bills set for scrutinizing all girls and targeting those that don't present as stereotypically feminine. 'There is no choice in this. For those who do not identify according to their biological marker, they get one choice, and that's called co-ed,' said Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, explaining her opposition to the bill. 'And if the school does not have the resources or can't put a regional team together, then we have de facto just discriminated against those students because we have not given them choice — choices.' Rep. Ellie Sato (D-Gorham) said her concern was with the enforcement of the bills. 'It would backtrack the progress that we've made in how we're surveilling girls' bodies, because I'm very concerned that girls that do not present feminine with feminine attributes — cis or trans — will be targeted regardless, because they don't fit into the model of what we believe a woman or a girl should look like,' she said. Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford) voted to support the restrictions on trans students because she said she believes in 'the truth of the biological reality of two sexes,' although the American Medical Association recognizes trans people and supports their right to affirming spaces. 'My hope is that my vote on these doesn't define me as someone who hates members of the LGBTQ community or wants to be cruel towards minors who are struggling with gender ideology, because it's simply not true,' Henderson said. Some Republican lawmakers including Henderson voted against the broader rollback of trans rights. These included LD 1002, which would mandate that educators use the name and gender listed on a students' birth certificate even if it doesn't align with their gender identity, and two bills (LD 1337 and LD 1432) that aim to remove gender identity as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act. Those bills will head to the full Legislature with a recommendation from the committee to reject them. . Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) said the intention behind LD 1432 is to retain gender identity protections under the umbrella of sexual orientation under the Maine Human Rights Act, but not designate gender identity as a separate protected class. He said he wanted to make the change to align with Title IX. Barbara Archer Hirsch, executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, which enforces the act, disagreed. She said she doesn't think removing the gender identity language 'does anything to align or not align with the current administration's interpretation of Title IX. Since gender identity and sexual orientation are not the same thing, she said protecting gender identity under the broader umbrella of sexual orientation would make complying with the Human Rights Act harder if the bill were to pass. 'I think that would create a lot of confusion,' she said. 'I think we would be getting more and more calls from folks not knowing what's covered and what's not, which was what was happening beforehand.' O'Hallaran asked whether there was a way to retain gender identity protections while still making it clear that trans girls can't play in girls sports. As an example, Hirsch pointed to religious schools, which because of exemptions do not have to follow the protections for gender identity and sexual orientation, as long as they don't receive state funding. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
The Herald Scotland
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Defense Department to kick out transgender troops, memo says
The decision was immediately condemned by transgender rights activists contacted by Reuters. "It is just shameful," said Jennifer Levi, a senior director at the pro-LGBTQ legal group GLAD Law. More: Supreme Court allows ban on transgender troops to take effect | The Excerpt "It is senseless to fast track people out of the military who are meeting standards and putting lives on the line to defend the country." Hegseth's memo illustrates how President Donald Trump's administration intends to swiftly act to remove thousands of transgender servicemembers after the Supreme Court's ruling on Tuesday cleared the way for a ban to take effect. In the memo, Hegseth said active duty transgender troops could identify themselves for "voluntary separation" from the U.S. armed forces until June 6. Troops who are in the reserve forces had until July 7. "On conclusion of the self-identification eligibility window, the Military Departments will initiate involuntary separation processes," the memo said. The Pentagon's ban is just one of a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to curb transgender rights. Trump signed an executive order in January after returning to the presidency that reversed a policy implemented under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, that had allowed transgender troops to serve openly in the American armed forces. Biden said at the time that "America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride." As of late last year, there were 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Exclusive-US military to start kicking out transgender troops next month, memo says
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued internal instructions to the Pentagon to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by June 6, according to a memo obtained by Reuters. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The decision was immediately condemned by transgender rights activists contacted by Reuters. "It is just shameful," said Jennifer Levi, a senior director at the pro-LGBTQ legal group GLAD Law. "It is senseless to fast track people out of the military who are meeting standards and putting lives on the line to defend the country." Hegseth's memo illustrates how President Donald Trump's administration intends to swiftly act to remove thousands of transgender servicemembers after the Supreme Court's ruling on Tuesday cleared the way for a ban to take effect. In the memo, Hegseth said active duty transgender troops could identify themselves for "voluntary separation" from the U.S. armed forces until June 6. Troops who are in the reserve forces had until July 7. "On conclusion of the self-identification eligibility window, the Military Departments will initiate involuntary separation processes," the memo said. The Pentagon's ban is just one of a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to curb transgender rights. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office on January 20 stating that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and that they are not changeable. But his efforts to end transgender rights in the military were a special focus on his election campaign, and he quickly moved to reverse a policy implemented under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden that had allowed transgender troops to serve openly in the American armed forces. Biden, who also reversed Trump's 2017 ban on transgender recruitment, said in 2021 that "America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride." Former Democratic President Barack Obama in 2016 first allowed trans people to serve openly and as of late last year, there were 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates. In Thursday's memo, Hegseth wrote that the U.S. military would immediately start removing transgender troops who had already self-identified for voluntary separation prior to a court ruling in March that halted the Trump administration's last attempt to implement the ban. A poll from Gallup published this in February said 58% of Americans favored allowing openly transgender individuals serving in the military, but the support had declined from 71% in 2019. A former Fox News host, Hegseth has embraced conservative stances on culture war issues, including eliminating diversity initiatives at the Pentagon. Speaking on Tuesday, Hegseth told a conference hosted by U.S. special operations forces: "No more pronouns, no more climate-change obsessions, no more emergency vaccine mandates, no more dudes in dresses."
RNZ News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
US military to start kicking out transgender troops next month, memo says
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali , Reuters President Donald Trump's administration intends to swiftly act to remove thousands of transgender service members. Photo: 123RF US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued internal instructions to the Pentagon to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by 6 June, according to a memo obtained by Reuters. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The decision was immediately condemned by transgender rights activists contacted by Reuters. "It is just shameful," said Jennifer Levi, a senior director at the pro-LGBTQ legal group GLAD Law. "It is senseless to fast track people out of the military who are meeting standards and putting lives on the line to defend the country." US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP Hegseth's memo illustrates how President Donald Trump's administration intends to swiftly act to remove thousands of transgender service members after the Supreme Court's ruling on Tuesday cleared the way for a ban to take effect. In the memo, Hegseth said active duty transgender troops could identify themselves for "voluntary separation" from the US armed forces until 6 June. Troops who are in the reserve forces had until 7 July. "On conclusion of the self-identification eligibility window, the Military Departments will initiate involuntary separation processes," the memo said. The Pentagon's ban is just one of a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to curb transgender rights. Trump signed an executive order in January after returning to the presidency that reversed a policy implemented under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden that had allowed transgender troops to serve openly in the American armed forces. Biden said at the time that "America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride." As of late last year there were 4240 US active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates. -Reuters
