W.Va. Court Rejects Law Banning Transgender Athletes in Women's Sports

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Facts

• The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a West Virginia law that prohibited transgender athletes from competing in sports designated for women and girls at public schools and colleges.¹
• In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of appellate judges found that West Virginia’s 'Save Women’s Sports Act' violated the 14th Amendment and Title IX protections. The case centers around 13-year-old transgender girl Becky Pepper-Jackson.²
• West Virginia passed a bill requiring school-sanctioned sports to be organized by biological sex in 2021, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of West Virginia to file a lawsuit on behalf of Jackson.³
• Jackson has been taking puberty blockers since the third grade, and in February, the court blocked West Virginia from removing the student from a middle school track and field team. West Virginia is among 24 states with laws against transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.⁴
• Judge Toby Heytens, a Biden appointee, says that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX because it only applies to transgender girls. The majority also noted that Jackson had never gone through puberty and didn't have a biological advantage.⁵
• The court noted that the ruling focuses on the nuances of this specific case, and other states are still able to have their respective laws on the issue.⁶

Sources: ¹NBC, ²FOX News, ³The Hill, ⁴CBS, ⁵Courthouse News Service and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by American Civil Liberties Union. This ruling is a victory for the civil rights and dignity of transgender athletes across the US and, hopefully, it will serve as a catalyst for similar decisions. Many states are trying to deny trans people of simply existing in the gender with which they identify, and West Virginia's law sought to deprive a transgender girl of her right to compete with her friends on a middle school track team.
• Right narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. The 4th Circuit dealt a blow to women's sports, fairness, and common sense by striking down West Virginia's law that required biological women to compete in women's sports. The left should not be arguing that biological males should be able to compete against biological females. Women and girls are the biggest losers today in this major cultural issue.

Predictions