Ga., S.C. attorneys general weigh in on W.Va. trans sports law

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The Georgia and South Carolina attorneys general joined others from nearly 20 other states in supporting a law banning those who identify as trans women from women’s sports.

According to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office, the brief is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to remove an injunction blocking West Virginia’s enforcement of its Save Women’s Sports Act (House Bill 3293).

Under the act, all biological males, including those who identify as transgender, are ineligible for participation on female sports teams.

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According to Wilson, in a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reinstated a preliminary injunction the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia had initially issued against the act in July 2021.

In a later ruling this past January, the same district court dissolved that preliminary injunction, holding that the state Legislature’s definition of “girl” and “woman” in the context of the Save Women’s Sports Act is “constitutionally permissible” and that the law complies with Title IX.

The brief explains that the 4th Circuit improperly enjoined West Virginia’s statute after a district court had held it constitutional.

Additionally, the brief argues that the U.S. Constitution “does not compel West Virginia to classify biological males as girls,” though the plaintiff in the case is seeking to compel the state to “adjust the contours” of the “state’s definition of ‘girl’ and boy.’” The brief also explains that forcing states cannot “coherently classify men and women based on private, ‘internal,’ ‘fluid’ feelings that might not even be ‘visible to others.’”

Other states joining the brief include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.