Becky Pepper-Jackson is a biological male, but, nevertheless, must be allowed to compete on the girls’ cross-country team, a judge said.
West Virginia is one of several states in which lawmakers have passed legislation blocking biological males from participating in women’s athletics. Even still, U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday, allowing Pepper-Jackson, a middle-schooler, to “sign up for and participate in school athletics in the same way as her girl classmates,” according to the Daily Caller.
Goodwin’s decision allows Pepper-Jackson to try out for the girls’ team. It’s not guaranteed, though, the 11-year-old student will make the squad.
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“A fear of the unknown and discomfort with the unfamiliar have motivated many of the most malignant harms committed by our country’s governments on their own citizens,” Goodwin stated. “Out of fear of those less like them, the powerful have made laws that restricted who could attend what schools, who could work certain jobs, who could marry whom, and even how people can practice their religions.”
“At this point, I have been provided with scant evidence that this law addresses any problems at all, let alone an important problem,” the judge continued, referring to H.B. 3293, the law protecting female sports. “When the government distinguishes between different groups of people, those distinctions must be supported by compelling reasons.”
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Goodwin went on to liken one’s “gender identity” to his or her ethnicity.
“Recognizing that classifying human beings in ways that officially sanction harm is antithetical to democracy, the states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment,” the judge decided. “It ensures that no state may ‘deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.’ Accordingly, the courts are most juberous of any law — state or federal — that treats groups of people differently.”
Both the left-leaning American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal have argued the law would “unfairly” prevent people like Pepper-Jackson from participating on female-only sports teams.
Both Lambda Legal and the ACLU of West Virginia praised Goodwin for his ruling Wednesday.
The law in question states that “[a]thletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sports,” adding students are permitted to compete on teams that align with their “biological sex.”
As for Pepper-Jackson, the student athlete said: “I am excited to know that I will be able to try out for the girls’ cross-country team and follow in the running shoes of my family. It hurt that the state of West Virginia would try to block me form pursuing my dreams. I just want to play.”
The 11-year-old began identifying as a transgender girl at a very young age and would wear female-centric clothing at home while dressing like a boy when at school, according to the legal complaint. Pepper-Jackson was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2019 and, as such, began taking puberty-blocking hormones in June of last year.
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