Things to know as courts and legislatures act on transgender kids’ rights

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Things to know as courts and legislatures act on transgender kids’ rights

2024-04-17 23:54 Last Updated At：04-18 01:00

Three court rulings across the U.S. this week delved into laws restricting the rights of transgender kids, including the first time the U.S. Supreme Court has gotten involved in a ban on gender-affirming care.

Most Republican-controlled states have now banned gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors, and blocked transgender girls from participating in girls sports competitions.

Most of the measures face legal challenges, and this week's rulings went both ways. The Supreme Court said Idaho can enforce its ban against gender-affirming health for minors while lawsuits proceed. An Ohio state judge put on hold a law against health care and sports participation that was about to kick in there. And a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia cannot keep a transgender girl from participating on her school's track team.

Here are things to know about the court rulings and the latest legislative action.

On Tuesday, an Ohio judge blocked enforcement of a law that was to take effect on April 24, banning gender-affirming care for minors and keeping transgender girls off girls sports teams at schools.

Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook said in his written opinion that it's likely the law, adopted in January with a legislative override of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's veto, violates a requirement that the state's laws address just one issue. He noted that lawmakers added the ban on gender-affirming care to the sports-related legislation because they were unable to adopt it separately.

The ban on enforcement is in effect for two weeks or until a judge holds a hearing for a request to halt enforcement while the case works its way through the courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Idaho can enforce its ban on providing puberty blockers or hormones to minors. The law also bans gender-affirming surgery, which is extremely rare for those under 18 anyway.

At least two dozen states have put similar bans into law in the last few years, nearly all of them challenged in court. Twenty other states are currently enforcing them.

The Idaho ruling was the first time the issue reached the Supreme Court.

But the justices did not dive into the constitutionality of the ban. Instead, they ruled 6-3 that enforcement can proceed, except against the two transgender teens who sued. And most of the justice's written opinions dealt with judicial procedure, exploring whether it's proper for courts to impose universal injunctions blocking laws while questions about them move through the courts.

The first ban on gender-affirming care for minors was adopted by Arkansas in 2021.

It was also the first to be blocked entirely — not just temporarily — by a federal court.

Last week, 10 judges on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis heard arguments on Arkansas' appeal of the ruling that blocked the law.

Circuit court appeals often take months to decide, and any ruling is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already been asked to block similar laws that are in effect in Kentucky and Tennessee.

A three-judge panel from another federal appeals court, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit, ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the West Virginia's ban against girls sports competition by transgender girls violates the rights of one teen athlete who challenged it.

The result: 13-year-old Becky Pepper Jackson, who has identified as a girl since she was in third grade, can stay on her middle school's girls cross country and track and field teams.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement that the ban remains in place for others, though an ACLU-West Virginia spokesperson said it's not clear that there are any other kids in the state are impacted by the law.

Other judges have temporarily blocked enforcement in Arizona, Idaho and Utah. But the New York City-based 2nd Circuit revived a challenge to Connecticut’s policy of letting transgender girls compete in girls sports, sending it back to a lower court last year without ruling on its merits.

At least 24 states have laws or policies on the books barring transgender girls and women from certain sports competitions, and most are enforcing them.

And some local bans are being litigated: A federal judge ruled refused to block the New York state government from taking legal action against Nassau County's ban, which is also being challenged by a local roller derby league.

The pace of Republican efforts to pass state restrictions has slowed this year, but measures before legislatures continue to target transgender people.

On Monday, Tennessee lawmakers gave near-final passage to a bill that would require public school employees to notify parents if their student identifies in school as transgender. States including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, North Carolina already have similar laws in place.

Last week, Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation to define who is considered a man or a woman based on reproductive systems rather than gender identity. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states also are seeking this year to codify a definition of the sexes.

Protesters take over Columbia University's Hamilton Hall in escalation of anti-war demonstrations

2024-04-30 16:04 Last Updated At：16:30

NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.

Video footage showed protesters on Columbia's Manhattan campus locking arms in front of Hamilton Hall early Tuesday and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building, one of several that was occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest on the campus. Posts on an Instagram page for protest organizers shortly after midnight urged people to protect the encampment and join them at Hamilton Hall.

“An autonomous group reclaimed Hind’s Hall, previously known as ”Hamilton Hall,” in honor of Hind Rajab, a martyr murdered at the hands of the genocidal Israeli state at the age of six years old,” CU Apartheid Divest posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, early Tuesday.

The student radio station, WKCR-FM, broadcasted a play-by-play of the hall’s takeover – which occurred nearly 12 hours after Monday’s 2 p.m. deadline for the protesters to leave an encampment of around 120 tents or face suspension. Representatives for the university did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment early Tuesday.

In the X post, protestors said they planned to remain at the hall until the university conceded to the CUAD's three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

Universities across the U.S. are grappling with how to clear out encampments as commencement ceremonies approach, with some continuing negotiations and others turning to force and ultimatums that have resulted in clashes with police. Dozens of people were arrested Monday during protests at universities in Texas, Utah and Virginia, while Columbia said hours before the takeover of Hamilton Hall that it had started suspending students.

Demonstrators are sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll, and the number of arrests at campuses nationwide is approaching 1,000 as the final days of class wrap up. The outcry is forcing colleges to reckon with their financial ties to Israel, as well as their support for free speech. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.

At the University of Texas at Austin, an attorney said at least 40 demonstrators were arrested Monday. The confrontation was an escalation on the 53,000-student campus in the state's capital, where more than 50 protesters were arrested last week.

Later Monday, dozens of officers in riot gear at the University of Utah sought to break up an encampment outside the university president’s office that went up in the afternoon. Police dragged students off by their hands and feet, snapping the poles holding up tents and zip-tying those who refused to disperse. Seventeen people were arrested. The university says it’s against code to camp overnight on school property and that the students were given several warnings to disperse before police were called in.

The plight of students who have been arrested has become a central part of protests, with the students and a growing number of faculty demanding amnesty for protesters. At issue is whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students through their adult lives.

The Texas protest and others — including in Canada and Europe — grew out of Columbia's early demonstrations that have continued. On Monday, student activists defied the 2 p.m. deadline to leave the encampment. Instead, hundreds of protesters remained. A handful of counter-demonstrators waved Israeli flags, and one held a sign reading, “Where are the anti-Hamas chants?”

While the university didn’t call police to roust the demonstrators, school spokesperson Ben Chang said suspensions had started but could provide few details. Protest organizers said they were not aware of any suspensions as of Monday evening.

Columbia’s handling of the demonstrations also has prompted federal complaints.

A class-action lawsuit on behalf of Jewish students alleges a breach of contract by Columbia, claiming the university failed to maintain a safe learning environment, despite policies and promises. It also challenges the move away from in-person classes and seeks quick court action requiring Columbia to provide security for the students.

Meanwhile, a legal group representing pro-Palestinian students is urging the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office to investigate Columbia’s compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for how they have been treated.

A university spokesperson declined to comment on the complaints.

In a rare case, Northwestern University said it reached an agreement with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus near Chicago. It allows peaceful demonstrations through the June 1 end of spring classes and in exchange, requires removal of all tents except one for aid, and restricts the demonstration area to allow only students, faculty and staff unless the university approves otherwise.

At the University of Southern California, organizers of a large encampment sat down with university President Carol Folt for about 90 minutes on Monday. Folt declined to discuss details but said she heard the concerns of protesters and talks would continue Tuesday.

USC sparked a controversy April 15 when officials refused to allow the valedictorian, who has publicly supported Palestinians, to make a commencement speech, citing nonspecific security concerns for their rare decision. Administrators then scrapped the keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu, who is an alumnus, and declined to award any honorary degrees.

The backlash, as well as Columbia's demonstrations, inspired the encampment and protests on campus last week week where 90 people were arrested by police in riot gear. The university has canceled its main graduation event.

Administrators elsewhere tried to salvage their commencements and several have ordered the clearing of encampments in recent days. When those efforts have failed, officials threatened discipline, including suspension, and possible arrest.

But students dug in their heels at other high-profile universities, with standoffs continuing at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale and others. Police in riot gear at Virginia Commonwealth University sought to break up an encampment there late Monday and clashed with protesters.

Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas, and Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including Hannah Schoenbaum, Sarah Brumfield, Stefanie Dazio, Christopher Weber, Carolyn Thompson, David Collins, Makiya Seminera and Corey Williams.