A New York decide on Oct. 6 upheld a Lengthy Island county legislation banning male athletes from collaborating in ladies’s sports activities at county-run amenities.
State Supreme Court docket Justice R. Bruce Cozzens wrote within the ruling that the ban nonetheless permits these athletes to take part in coed sports activities leagues at county amenities, whereas defending ladies and women.
The curler derby league, the Lengthy Island Curler Rebels, had sued over the legislation, arguing it violated state anti-discrimination legal guidelines.
“The Court agrees that this Local Law is narrowly tailored to achieve the objectives and does not categorically exclude transgender individuals from athletic participation,” Cozzens wrote. “The law regulates access to women and girls categories in the County run facilities for organized athletic events.”
He additionally denied the plaintiff’s request that male athletes on feminine groups not be required to reveal their transgender identification.
“Potentially that creates an even greater risk to the females since they would not even be aware (nor it is assumed would they be permitted to inquire) if a player was a biological male,” the decide wrote.
The decide earlier had denied a request from defendants to quickly pause enforcement of the ban, which was ordered by an appeals court docket, whereas the lawsuit continued to be heard by the courts.
In a press release on Monday, Nassau County Govt Bruce Blakeman mentioned, “We are grateful that the court found our legislation to be valid and legal.”
The ban was first issued by Blakeman by a 2024 govt order with the said goal of defending ladies’s areas in county amenities.
“What we are saying here today with our executive order is that, if a league or team identifies themselves or advertises themselves to be a girls’ or women’s league or team, then biological males should not be competing in those leagues,” Blakeman mentioned throughout a information convention on the time.
The Lengthy Island Curler Rebels then challenged the order in court docket and received. Nassau County Supreme Court docket Decide Francis Ricigliano dominated in Might 2024 that such a ban required the approval of the Nassau County Legislature.
The Republican-majority Legislature then handed the ban into legislation in June 2024. The derby submitted one other authorized problem, arguing that it violated the state’s anti-discrimination legal guidelines.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the ACLU’s New York division, mentioned it would attraction Monday’s resolution.
“Today’s decision sends a chilling message that trans people don’t belong in Nassau County, but the fight doesn’t end here,” Gabriella Larios, workers legal professional on the NYCLU, mentioned. “We are confident that New York courts will ultimately see the ban for what it is: unlawful and discriminatory.”
The county says it receives federal funding underneath Title IX.
“Title IX permits distinctions based on biological sex in athletics,” Cozzens dominated. “There is no support in Title lX to suggest that sex discrimination includes gender identity,” he added, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court docket ruling in Division of Schooling. et al v. Louisiana et. al.
“It is clear that Nassau County’s stated purpose for the Local Law is to protect women and girls in sports.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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