A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Florida law that prohibits transgender female students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman ruled on Thursday that the lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Broward County transgender girl identified as D.N., failed to demonstrate that the Florida Legislature had a discriminatory purpose in enacting the law in 2021.
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The lawsuit argued that the law violated D.N.’s equal protection rights, citing statements made by some legislators during the legislative process as evidence of discriminatory intent. However, Judge Altman concluded that the motivations of a few individual lawmakers could not be attributed to the entire legislature.
“At best, D.N. has suggested that SB 1028 impacts transgender girls differently than it does other students and that one or two legislators may have been motivated by improper animus when they voted for the law,” Altman wrote in his 32-page decision. “As we’ve shown, however, we cannot impute the motivations of a couple legislators to the Florida Legislature as a whole.”
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The law, championed by Governor Ron DeSantis, has been a point of contention since its passage, with supporters arguing it ensures fairness in women’s sports while critics contend it discriminates against transgender students.
D.N., a 16-year-old who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at age 7, has been barred from playing girls’ sports at her school due to the law. Her attorneys had previously filed a similar lawsuit that was dismissed in 2023, but were allowed to submit a revised version.
This ruling is a setback for advocates of transgender rights who argue that such laws are discriminatory and harmful to transgender youth. It remains to be seen whether D.N.’s legal team will appeal the decision.
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