Tim Mossholder, Unsplash
The Supreme Court of the United States heard more than three hours of arguments in two cases regarding state bans on transgender students playing on sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity.
As reported by John Fritze and Devan Cole of CNN, the SCOTUS ustices waded through exceedingly technical debates and hypotheticals as they tried to assess whether the bans enacted by Idaho and West Virginia are consistent with the 14th Amendment or Title IX. The court’s decision could affect similar laws in more than half the country. Currently 27 states have passed laws banning transgender students from playing sports consistent with their gender identity.
Key takeaways from Tuesday's hearing, as presented by Fritze and Cole:
- Several conservative justices seized on language and themes that have punctuated the national debate around whether trans athletes had an unfair advantage, another sign of their readiness to back the state bans.
- In one of the more remarkable moments from the arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts quickly sought to distinguish the sports cases from a 2020 precedent that protects gay and transgender employees from workplace discrimination. By doing so, he eviscerated a central argument that had been raised by the American Civil Liberties Union and other lawyers challenging the bans.
- Throughout the arguments, the justices similarly wrestled with the question of whether transgender girls who have taken hormone therapy really have some inherent advantage in sports just because they were born male. If they do not, then the states’ justification for their laws falls apart.
- The three liberal justices voiced concerns about the possibility of a broad ruling that would not only uphold the bans but also prevent athletes looking to challenge them from getting courts to block the laws on a case-by-case basis.
- Attorneys for the transgender students urged the justices to send the cases back down to lower courts for a more thorough factual record to be developed – particularly on the question of whether transgender girls have some inherent advantages on girls teams.
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