CONCORD, NH — A federal judge on Monday temporarily cleared the way for a transgender girl to play soccer for her high school team while she and another student challenge a ban in New Hampshire.
The families of Parker Tirrell, 15, and Iris Turmelle, 14, filed a lawsuit on Friday to overturn the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed last month. Although Turmelle does not plan to return to sports until December, Tirrell has filed for an emergency order to allow her to begin soccer practice Monday night.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty granted the request within hours, finding that Tirrell had likely prevailed on the merits of the case. The two sides now have 14 days to schedule a hearing on the plaintiffs’ broader motion for a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the case proceeds.
The lawsuit alleged that the law violates constitutional protections and federal law by denying teens equal educational opportunities and discriminating against them for being transgender.
The judge questioned how the law, as applied to Tirrell, would protect girls from unfair competition, since the state did not dispute evidence that she did not derive a physiological benefit from taking puberty-blocking drugs to prevent physical changes such as muscle development. McCafferty also found that Tirrell had proven that she would suffer irreparable harm without them, another criterion for emergency relief.
Michael DeGrandis, an attorney for the state, argued that missing soccer practice, while “stressful,” did not meet that standard, but the girls’ attorney disagreed, saying it would have a “permanent, stigmatizing impact.”
“We are very pleased with the judge’s ruling. It is what we expected, because we know this law is unfair and violates the rights of transgender girls in New Hampshire,” Chris Erchull, attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, they said after the hearing.
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.
