On the last day of Pride, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority upheld state bans in Idaho and West Virginia preventing transgender girls from playing sports that match their gender.
Ohio already passed a trans sports ban through HB 68 in 2024, which passed after the Republican supermajority overruled Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of the bill that also banned trans minors from receiving gender-affirming care. The ban remains in place as an appeal is currently being held in the Ohio Supreme Court.
Ohio LGBTQ+ organizations were quick to respond to Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling.
Executive Director of TransOhio Dara Adkison called the ruling “one of the most significant setbacks for transgender rights in modern history.”
“By permitting the exclusion of trans student athletes from school sports based solely on their perceived sex, the Court has endorsed government discrimination against a vulnerable population and departed from the principle that all people deserve equal protection under the law,” Adkison said in a statement. “This decision does not erase transgender people from our schools, communities, or families. Transgender Ohioans have always existed, and we always will.”
A statement from LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Ohio called the ruling “extremely hurtful to transgender young people and their families.”
Talking directly to trans youth, the statement read: “No court decision can erase your humanity, your dignity, or your place in our community.”
“Equality Ohio will not stop fighting until every Ohioan experiences lived and legal equality,” the statement concluded.
Ben Huelskamp, executive director of the LGBTQ+ religious advocacy organization LOVEboldly, said the decision was “cruel.”
“It claims to defend ‘women’s sports,’ but it does so by sacrificing actual, named, individual girls and women on the altar of an abstraction,” Huelskamp said in a statement. “That’s not protection. That’s scapegoating with a legal opinion attached.” 🔥
The Columbus LGBTQ+ Affairs Commission released a statement about the “senseless attack on our transgender youth.” The new commission said its members would turn “this moment into action by collaborating with trans-serving organizations.”
“Although disappointing, the decision does not mean there is a nationwide ban on transgender athletes nor does it force states or cities to enact one,” the statement said. “Today, we reaffirm that commitment to our transgender neighbors and their families who deserve fairness, equality and inclusion.”
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. The article may be updated with additional statements from other organizations.
IGNITE ACTION
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860.
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