On Monday a U.S. district judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked the Biden administration's new Title IX protections for LGBTQ students in six states, bringing the total number of states the new rules will likely not go into effect August 1 to ten. Republican state attorneys general are fighting the Biden Dept. of Education policies that protect the minority students.
"U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves referred to the regulation as 'arbitrary in the truest sense of the word' in granting a preliminary injunction blocking it in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. His ruling comes days after a different federal judge temporarily blocked the new rule from taking effect in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana," the Associated Press reports.
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“The judge’s order makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to redefine ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ is unlawful and beyond the agency’s regulatory authority,” Kentucky state Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a statement, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in employment, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is sex discrimination, and therefore prohibited under Title VII. That 6-3 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County was authored by a right-wing justice, Neil Gorsuch.
Judge Reeves (photo), a Bush-43 appointee, began his ruling by writing, "There are two sexes: male and female."
"This case concerns an attempt by the executive branch to dramatically alter the purpose and meaning of Title IX through rulemaking," Reeves continued. "But six states, an association of Christian educators, and one fifteen-year-old girl object. As they correctly argue, the new rule contravenes the plain text of Title IX by redefining 'sex' to include gender identity, violates government employees’ First Amendment rights, and is the result of arbitrary and capricious rulemaking."
Louisville Public Media reports, "Reeves also said he believed the case would win on parental rights grounds."
“It follows that parents retain a constitutionally protected right to guide their own children on matters of identity, including the decision to adopt or reject various gender norms and behaviors,” Reeves wrote.
Democrats support the Biden Title IX rules.
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"Democrat-controlled states have widely supported the rule, and 16 Democratic attorneys general filed a joint amicus brief in one of the challenges," LPM adds.
Right wing anti-LGBTQ activist Riley Gaines cheered Monday's ruling: "Great news! Biden's illegal rewrite of Title IX won't go into effect in TN, KY, VA, WV, OH, & IN"
"A federal court granted an injunction for the Title IX lawsuit filed by mentioned states," she added. "This is a huge win. The gender ideology house of cards is falling fast."
But civil rights attorney Wendy Murphy responded, "Before you celebrate these 'advocates' remember that this lawsuit asks the court to REINSTATE Trump/DeVos 2020 #TitleIX regulations that ALLOW rape by requiring it to be BOTH 'severe AND pervasive.' So one rape at knifepoint is NOT covered by Title IX bc it wasn’t 'pervasive.' "
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