A federal lawsuit was filed in court on Wednesday challenging recent Idaho legislation which places a ban on transgender athletes competing in the gender in which they identify in both high school and collegiate sports.
On March 30, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed into law House Bill 500, otherwise known as Fairness in Women's Sports Act, which acts to prohibit transgender athletes from competing within the gender they identify with.
While Idaho is the first state in the Union to legislate a ban on transgender athletes from participating in public sports all together, 10 state athletic associations have enacted guidelines that require athletes to compete under the gender listed on their birth certificate, according to TransAthlete.com.
The new Idaho law prohibts transgender athletes from competing on any public school or universitiy programs.
But two civil rights groups, filing on behalf of Boise State University freshman Lindsay Hecox, a transgender female and former track and field athlete, and another female, are looking to challenge that legislation in court, NBC News reported.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is also involved in another cross country battle in Connecticut that is playing out similarly, says that legislation "violates the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, which bares sex discrimination in any educational program that recevies federal funding," NBC News reported.
"We're suing because HB 500 illegally targets women and girls who are transgender and intersex and subjects all female athletes to the possibility of invasive genital and genetic screenings," ACLU attorney Gabriel Arkles said in release. "In Idaho and around the country, transgender people of all ages have been participating in sports consistent with their gender identity for years. Inclusive teams support all athletes and encourage participation -- this should be the standard for all school sports."
The second female attached to the federal suit is not named, though she contends that being required to provide her "biological sex" in order to participate in sports is unlawful.
The ACLU's lawsuit is "basd on criteria that intentionally disqualify all women and girls who are transgender and many who are intersex, and which threaten to intrude upon the privacy and bodily autonomy of all women and girls engaged in student athletics."
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