New York County Could Ban Transgender Athletes
newsweek.comSupreme Court last month after a judge ruled he didn't have the authority to impose the ban without the county legislature's approval.
Republicans control 12 of the 19 seats, so the law is widely expected to pass."We will be introducing legislation in the Nassau County Legislature to codify the protections that were in my executive order to ensure the fairness and safety of women's and girls' competitions," Blakeman told the New York Post on Thursday. "I am confident the legislature will act favorably to protect girls and women in Nassau County."The move comes after 24 states have passed transgender sports bans.When Blakeman signed the executive order in February, the ban was met with swift backlash from some of the state's highest-ranking officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul, who accused Blakeman of trying to score "cheap political points," and Attorney General Letitia James, who said her office was reviewing all legal options."There is nothing lower than trying to score cheap political points by putting a target on the backs of some of our state's most vulnerable people: Trans kids," Hochul wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "New York has some of the nation's strongest protections for the LGBTQ+ community, and I am committed to enforcing them."Last month, Judge Francis Ricigliano of the Nassau County Supreme Court said in a 13-page decision that Blakeman's order was aimed at preventing transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports, "despite there being no corresponding legislative enactment" that allowed him to implement that order.The lawsuit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels, a roller derby league that welcomes trans women and was barred from using county facilities under Blakeman's order.Responding to Ricigliano's ruling, Blakeman said it was merely a "lack of courage from a judge who didn't want to decide the case on its merits."Despite facing criticism, Blakeman has.
