In Utah, transgender kids will not be subjected to sports-participation limits at the start of the upcoming school year after Judge Keith Kelly delayed the implementation of a statewide ban passed earlier this year, WGEM reported.
Kelly's Aug. 19 decision to put the law on hold until the legal challenge is resolved came after he recently rejected a request by Utah state attorneys to dismiss the case. Most Utah students head back to classes this month.
In a press release Windy City Times received from the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), it was emphasized that the court noted that its decision will not mean that every transgender girl is able to play on girls' teams, but rather that every transgender girl will have an opportunity to do so. The court explained that under another part of the new law, if the ban is struck down, a statewide commission will "consider confidentially, for each transgender girl who seeks to compete in school athletics, whether it would fair to permit that transgender girl to compete on girls' teams."
The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah (ACLU of Utah), NCLR, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, whose team was led by former Utah supreme court justices Christine Durham and Deno Himonas as well as Fred Rowley, a renowned appellate advocate.
"We are very pleased by the Court's decision," said Durham. "Thus far, every court to rule on a similar ban has barred it from taking effect, due in part to the serious harms caused by excluding an entire group of students from such an important school activity. We read today's decision as recognizing that the law is not only discriminatory but puts Utah children at needless risk of lifelong harm. We look forward to moving forward with the case and securing a permanent decision blocking the law from taking effect."
Similar cases are underway in states such as Idaho, West Virginia and Indiana.
