A judge in Utah granted an injunction temporarily blocking a state law that bars biological men from competing in female sports.
The ruling halts the state from enforcing some provisions in House Bill 11, a bill passed by the state legislature earlier this year. The injunction temporarily blocks one section of the law that prohibits biological men from competing in female sports, but the rest of the bill will remain in effect until legal battles over the legislation are resolved.
“The ban singles out transgender girls and categorically bars them from competing on girls’ sports teams,” wrote Judge Keith A. Kelly for the 3rd District Court. “At the same time, other girls are free to compete. This is plainly unfavorable treatment.”
With the temporary ban, the state will move forward with a backup process that allows a commission to decide whether transgender girl athletes can compete on a case-by-case basis. As a result, transgender girls will still be able to compete but only “when it is fair,” according to the injunction.
The bill banning transgender athletes from participating in high school sports was passed earlier this year and received immediate backlash from several in the state, including from Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.
“If you have not spent time with transgender youth, then I would encourage you to pause on this issue,” Cox said after the bill was introduced in February. “We have so many people who are in a very difficult spot right now. And we have very few, if any, transgender girls participating in sports.”
The injunction comes after three families with transgender female athletes filed a lawsuit against the state because they were blocked from competing in high school sports. Kelly sided with the plaintiffs, arguing they are likely to prove the ban violates their constitutional rights because it “creates a sex-based classification” that discriminates against transgender girls, treats transgender girls “less favorably than other girls,” and creates a “sex-based classification that does not withstand heightened scrutiny.”
Additionally, Kelly ruled it’s likely the families can prove the plaintiffs have experienced “irreparable harm” from the ban due to “significant distress by singling them out for unfavorable treatment as transgender girls,” the injunction stated.
The temporary injunction is set to stay in place until the lawsuits are resolved by the state.
