Lambda Legal is encouraging North Texas to attend a rally and oral argument debriefing Tuesday, Jan 13, in Dallas regarding two cases on transgender youth in school sports that are before the U.S. Supreme Court for oral arguments that day.
The Dallas event, one of many being held across the country to bring attention to these cases, begins at 10 a.m. at Union Coffee, 3705 Cedar Springs Road. Community tabling starts at 10 a.m. and runs through 2 p.m., and the community rally with featured speakers starts at 11 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., additional speakers will present the oral arguments debriefing and host a “Know Your Rights” session.
Participants at these gatherings will be joining a national coalition of organizations across the country led by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, Transgender Law Center and Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network (GSA Network).
The two cases before the court on Tuesday — West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox — “represent two teenage girls from West Virginia and Idaho, who sued just to be allowed to continue playing sports like any other student in their communities,” explained Ash Hall (they/them), policy and advocacy strategist for LGBTQIA+ equality at the ACLU of Texas.
“While our communities are worried about putting food on the table, making rent, losing healthcare, or being disappeared by ICE, politicians and billionaires are making our lives harder by spending millions to ignite unfounded fears about trans people in an attempt to divide us,” Hall continued. “These cases go beyond laws and impact who we should respect as part of our communities, what our public schools should be like and who they should serve, and what role the government should play in our lives. As Texans, we fight for everyone including transgender people who call our beloved state home.”
Shelly Skeen, Southwest Region director for Lambda Legal, offered insight into the two cases.
Over 75 anti-trans laws were introduced in 2021. Among the more than 75 anti-trans laws introduced in 2021 was West Virginia’s HB 3293, which bans girls who are transgender from participating in school sports. This law was signed by Gov. Jim Justice despite his inability to name any transgender athletes in West Virginia.
“This ban, and laws like it, are opposed by women athletes, women’s sports organizations, and medical experts. The lawsuit, West Virginia v. B.P.J., was filed on behalf of 15-year-old Becky Pepper Jackson to be able to participate in cross-country and track and field with her friends,” Skeen explained.
Little v. Hecox, Skeen said, is a challenge brought by a transgender student against Idaho’s 2020 ban on transgender athletes and requirements for sex testing. The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Idaho, Legal Voice, and Cooley LLP represent the plaintiffs in this case.
— Tammye Nash
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