Feds: West Virginia transgender athlete ban violates the law

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Department of Justice has slammed a new West Virginia law that bans transgender athletes from competing in female sports, asserting in a court filing Thursday that the ban violates federal law.

The department filed what is known as a statement of interest in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter and LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal challenging the ban. The DOJ said the law violates Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal funds, as well as the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

“The United States has a significant interest in ensuring that all students, including students who are transgender, can participate in an educational environment free of unlawful discrimination and that the proper legal standards are applied to claims under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause,” the filing said.

“A state law that limits or denies a particular class of people’s ability to participate in public, federally funded educational programs and activities solely because their gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth violates both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause,” the filing said. The state law “does exactly this,” the department said.

Read more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/17/feds-w-virginia-transgender-athlete-ban-violates-the-law/
(San Jose Mercury News)