WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday made its most forceful statement against a wave of Republican-backed state laws that restrict transgender rights, saying measures introduced in West Virginia and Arkansas should be struck down in the courts.
Justice Department lawyers urged a West Virginia judge to invalidate a state law banning transgender athletes from competing in female sports in middle and high schools and colleges, in a legal brief known as a “statement of interest.”
The department filed a similar brief in federal court in Arkansas, saying it is unconstitutional for that state to bar healthcare professionals from providing transition-related care to transgender minors.
In both cases, the federal government threw its weight behind court challenges brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that advocate for transgender rights.
The Justice Department briefs argue that the two laws each violate the right to “equal protection” under the law enshrined in the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
In the West Virginia case, the Biden administration lawyers say Republican Party officials in the state “legislated based on misconceptions and overbroad assumptions” about transgender youth.
“That policy does nothing to further the state’s purported goal of protecting athletic opportunities for girls,” the Justice Department brief stated.
The Arkansas legislation threatens any healthcare professional who provides puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgery to minors with losing their medical license and opens them up to lawsuits from patients who later regret their procedures.
Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed the bill in April, calling it a “vast government overreach,” but the state’s legislature overrode his veto.
The West Virginia law, signed by Republican Governor Jim Justice in April, bans transgender athletes from competing in female sports. Similar laws have been enacted in states including Florida and South Dakota.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
