The Supreme Court backed state laws banning transgender girls from participating in scholastic girls’ sports in a decision issued Tuesday, upholding a legal argument used by the Trump administration in seeking to ban transgender athletes nationwide.
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, in a majority opinion that turned aside challenges to West Virginia and Idaho laws, wrote that states could bar transgender girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports under the Constitution and Title IX, which governs civil rights in schools.
“The question is whether Title IX permits schools to maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females. The answer is yes,” Kavanaugh wrote.
Kavanaugh’s decision pointed to “inherent physical differences” between girls and boys and pointed to potential safety and competitiveness concerns that justified the separation. Kavanaugh wrote those concerns were justified even when a potential athlete had taken puberty blockers or hormones to transition.
Kavanaugh used similar reasons to reject claims that such bans violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Delving into assessments of whether individuals had the athletic ability to compete on boys and girls teams would involve endless, frustrating litigation, Kavanaugh wrote.
