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Idaho Court Asked to Block Law Banning Transgender Student Athletes

VOA News

   The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion Thursday in U.S.
   district court in Boise, Idaho, for a preliminary injunction to block a
   new law that bans transgender and intersex women and girls from
   participating in school sports.

   The Idaho bill, known as HB500, was signed into law by Republican Gov.
   Brad Little in late March. It is scheduled to take effect on July 1,
   2020.

   The motion filed in Hecox v. Little, the lawsuit challenging HB500,
   requests that the judge block the implementation of HB500 by early
   August so that transgender students can participate in athletic tryouts
   this fall. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, a
   transgender student at Boise State University, and an anonymous junior
   at Boise High School. The motion cited the law's violation of the Equal
   Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.

   HB500 bans transgender girls from participating in school athletics and
   legalizes the practice of gender verification screenings, by which
   female athletes may be required to prove their sex with invasive
   genital or genetic screenings in order to compete.

   Idaho is not the first state to introduce bills to restrict the
   participation of transgender athletes; however, it is the only state to
   have passed a statewide ban on participation of transgender athletes.
   Idaho's legislation is a sign of the growing debate surrounding how to
   regulate transgender athletes. Earlier this year, many states,
   including New Hampshire and Arizona, introduced similar bills
   attempting to regulate transgender athletes.

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