CONCORD, NH — Two transgender women will be allowed to audition for an all-girls high school sports team while the teens challenge a ban in New Hampshire, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The families of Parker Tirrell, 15, and Iris Turmelle, 14, charged in August who wants to roll back the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was passed by Republican Governor Chris Sununu signed into law in July. While Turmelle doesn’t plan to play sports until December, Tirrell successfully filed for an emergency order last month that allowed her to begin soccer practice. That order expired Tuesday.
In granting a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty found that Tirrell and Turmelle would likely succeed in their lawsuit. She ruled that the students demonstrated “a likelihood of irreparable harm” absent a preliminary injunction.
Before the law was passed, “Parker participated in girls’ sports at Plymouth Elementary School and Plymouth Regional High School, and Iris participated in tennis and auditioned for her high school’s softball team,” McCafferty wrote. “There is no indication in the record that plaintiffs’ participation in school sports caused the State or anyone else even the slightest harm.”
McCafferty noted that during a hearing last month, she raised the possibility of a trial this fall, before Turmelle’s winter term begins. An attorney representing the students said he would be prepared for a trial; an attorney for the state did not indicate that.
McCafferty wrote Tuesday that it is almost certain a trial will not take place until well after December.
“We are currently reviewing the court’s decision and evaluating the implications of the ruling,” Michael Garrity, a spokesman for the New Hampshire attorney general’s office, said in a news release. “We remain committed to providing a safe environment for all students. The state will continue to consider all legal avenues to ensure we uphold both the law and our commitment to the well-being of students.”
A request for comment has been sent to GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, who represents the students.
McCafferty’s statement came a day after a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that blocks Arizona from enforcing a 2022 ban on transgender people playing on girls’ school sports teams.
The New Hampshire lawsuit argues that the state’s ban violates constitutional protections and federal law by denying teens equal educational opportunities and discriminating against them for being transgender.
Attorneys for the state said the teens’ lawyers have failed to prove their case and have not shown why alternatives, such as participating on mixed teams, could not be an option.
The bill signed by Sununu would ban transgender athletes in grades 5 through 12 from teams that match their gender identity. It would require schools to designate all teams as all-girls, all-boys or mixed, with eligibility determined based on students’ birth certificates “or other proof.”
Sununu had said it would “ensure fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competition.” About half of the states have similar measures.
The rights of transgender people, especially young people, have become an important issue political battlefield In recent years, as transgender visibility has increased. Most Republican-controlled states have banned gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, and several have passed policies restricting which school bathrooms transgender people can use and excluding trans girls from some sporting events.