🙌🏼 Transgender rights win across U.S. this week

Hi all,

📣 Well, transgender rights are having a week with court rulings. The Supreme Court did rule to allow Idaho's anti-trans care law to go into effect. A federal district court had issued an injunction against the law last year, blocking it from enforcement while the suit is heard, as the court found the suit likely to succeed on its claim that the law is unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the injunction in January. But the high court said lower courts had erred in blocking the law’s application to all state residents instead of just those who brought the suit. The Supreme Court’s decision Monday allows the law to apply to all Idahoans except those who sued.

✨ That is obviously not a win, but there have been glimmers of hope elsewhere. A court in Ohio has granted a temporary restraining order keeping the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth as well as its ban on trans girls and women in female school sports from going into effect. 🏀

Also, a federal appeals court has ruled that transgender students in West Virginia may play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. In a landmark decision on Tuesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a West Virginia law that prohibited transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports teams, deeming it a violation of Title IX, which bars sex-based discrimination in education. ⚽

In Kentucky, the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly adjourned on Monday without advancing any anti-LGBTQ+ laws. The state Senate and House of Representatives ended their last session without passing any of the proposed bills targeting the queer community. While several bills advanced past committees, with some even advancing to the other legislative body, none became law. ✨

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper