Trans teens file lawsuit against New Hampshire, U.S.A. due to sports ban

Last Friday, two soccer-playing teenagers from New Hampshire, who have identified as girls from a young age, filed a lawsuit against the state for enforcing a ban on transgender athletes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is assisting with the lawsuit.

According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, the suit argues that the prohibition against transgender girls in girls’ sports teams breaches both the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX, a 1972 amendment that ensures equal educational treatment based on sex. The lawsuit also indicates that the plaintiffs plan to request a restraining order against the defendants in addition to seeking a temporary injunction on the legislation, to allow them to resume playing sports.

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Chris Erchull, a senior staff attorney for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), stated, “Sports are a pillar of education in New Hampshire public schools because of the countless benefits of physical activity in a team environment, including physical and mental health, leadership skills, and social development. New Hampshire cannot justify singling out transgender girls to deny them essential educational benefits available to other students.”

Governor Chris Sununu (R) signed H.B. 1205 into law last month, prohibiting trans girls from joining girls’ sports teams at the high school level. It was enacted alongside two other bills that restrict trans rights. However, a fourth bill intended to overturn the state's anti-discrimination protections for trans people was vetoed by the governor.

The lawsuit identifies as defendants the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education, members of the New Hampshire Board of Education, and members of the high school board where the girls study. The plaintiffs' legal representation includes Chris Erchull and Ben Klein from GLAD, Henry Klementowicz and Gilles Bissonnette from the ACLU of New Hampshire, and Louis Lobel, Kevin DeJong, and Elaine Blais from Goodwin.

Henry Klementowicz, Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU of New Hampshire, expressed, “H.B. 1205 stigmatizes and discriminates against transgender girls and tells them they aren’t deserving of the same educational opportunities to other girls in public schools. All students do better in school when they have access to resources that improve their mental, emotional, and physical health and [the girls] deserve that same access.”

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