Boy can continue playing on girls' soccer team in New Hampshire after judge temporarily blocks new state law



A New Hampshire boy claiming to be a girl will be allowed to continue playing on a girls' soccer team after a federal judge granted an emergency request to block a new state law in his case for the time being.

On Sunday, the Fairness in Women's Sports Act went into effect in New Hampshire after Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed it last month. The law prevents males in 5th through 12th grade from participating on sports teams designated for females only.

Under FWSA, New Hampshire parents can sue a school district that allows boys to play on girls' teams, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported.

'It takes a lot of nerve for a judge to block this good and just law in the immediate aftermath of SCOTUS striking the regime's malfeasance with Title IX on this same issue.'

On Monday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya McCafferty, an Obama appointee, issued a temporary block in the case of a 15-year-old boy attending Plymouth Regional High School. Blaze News is not naming the boy and will refer to him only as P.T.

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire sued on behalf of P.T. and a 14-year-old boy in the Pemi-Baker Regional School District, claiming that FWSA violated Title IX and constitutional equal protections.

Plaintiffs requested a "temporary restraining order" of the law in P.T.'s case since he currently plays on the girls' soccer team at Plymouth Regional and had practice on Monday night. They claimed missing practice would have a "permanent, stigmatizing impact" on him.

They further argued that P.T. and the 14-year-old plaintiff had no physical advantage over biologically female competitors since they have been taking puberty blockers to stunt their male development.

"They’re not going to be any faster or any stronger than typical girls," Chris Erchull, an attorney for GLAD, said in court.

Michael DeGrandis, an attorney for the state, did not contest that claim about physical advantage and even conceded that missing soccer practice would be "stressful and straining" for P.T. However, DeGrandis insisted that such stress and strain should not mean the law should not apply in P.T.'s case.

"Does that rise to the level of irreparable harm?" DeGrandis asked.

Judge McCafferty apparently believes it does. She granted the emergency restraining order and indicated that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their lawsuit.

McCafferty further claimed that P.T. has "no physiological advantage" over his female counterparts on the athletic field because of the puberty blockers he has been taking. She insisted this was an "uncontested reality" and not a matter of personal opinion.

McCafferty's ruling applies only to P.T. since the 14-year-old plaintiff is not planning to participate in girls' sports until the winter.

Both sides of the lawsuit now must schedule a hearing to consider a temporary block of the FWSA for all of New Hampshire while the litigation process continues through the court system. That hearing is expected in the next few weeks.

"We are very happy with the judge’s order. It is also what we expected, because we know that this law is unfair and violates the rights of transgender girls of New Hampshire," Erchull stated after the ruling.

Not everyone in the state is cheering, however. Republican State Rep. Mike Belcher described the whole issue as "absurd" and argued that McCafferty's ruling not only overrides state law but a recent Supreme Court decision to allow states to ban men in women's spaces while Title IX cases continue.

"It takes a lot of nerve for a judge to block this good and just law in the immediate aftermath of SCOTUS striking the regime's malfeasance with Title IX on this same issue," Belcher told Blaze News.

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Florida school employee who let son play on girls' volleyball team receives 10-day suspension



An employee at a high school in Southeastern Florida has received a 10-day, unpaid suspension after she apparently violated the state's Fairness in Women’s Sports Act by allowing her teenage son to play on a girls' volleyball team.

For seven years, Jessica Norton worked as a computer information specialist at Monarch High School, about 15 miles or so north of Fort Lauderdale. She also coached the girls' junior varsity volleyball team.

'She knew what the law was, she made a decision not to follow the law, and that needs to have consequence to it.'

But last November, Norton and several other school officials were transferred to other district sites after news broke that Norton's son, who claims to be transgender, was playing on the girls' varsity volleyball team. Norton had also allegedly indicated that her son was "female" on a form asking about his sex at birth, as Blaze News previously reported.

Back in March, a professional standards committee recommended that Norton be assessed a 10-day suspension. However, then-Superintendent Licata and current Superintendent Howard Hepburn overruled that decision and recommended termination instead.

The Broward County School Board, which lobbied against the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, has wrangled over Norton's case for past several weeks. On Tuesday, the board voted 5-4 in favor of a 10-day, unpaid suspension as well as removing Norton from her position as a computer information specialist.

'I didn’t quit when I’m pretty sure that they wanted me to just resign and say I’m done.'

Before the final vote, however, members on both sides of the issue spoke their piece.

Chair Lori Alhadeff insisted that termination was the only way to deter other district employees from committing similar FWSA violations. "If we do not terminate, then others would then be left to believe that they can, too, break the law, and I have a problem with that," Alhadeff said.

Board member Brenda Fam likewise insisted on terminating Norton, referring to her as an "LGBTQ+ advocate" and likening her apparent falsification of her son's records regarding gender to giving a false address to allow a child to attend a better school, an act that is a crime in Florida. "I think what happened is criminal, in my opinion," Fam said.

"This was not a question about her son or her family. It was an issue about what she did as an employee and how she harmed others," Fan added.

Jessica Norton and her husband, Gary Norton — who both attended the meeting Tuesday — walked out of the room after Fam allegedly "misgendered" their son. Fam insisted she was just quoting from a news article.

Board member Debbi Hixon also took issue with Norton allegedly falsifying her son's records but stopped short of calling for Norton's termination. "She knew what the law was, she made a decision not to follow the law, and that needs to have consequence to it," Hixon stated before noting that this was Norton's "first offense."

"We would not terminate someone on their first offense."

Other members expressed support for and sympathy with Norton's cause.

Board member Sarah Leonardi claimed that Norton, a woman who authorized giving her son puberty blockers when he was just 11 and estrogen thereafter, had not caused any real harm to anyone.

"Ms. Norton did not abuse a child. She did not harm a child. She did what she thought was in the best interest of her daughter," Leonardi said.

Jeff Holness simply stated, "The child has suffered enough, and so has this family, I think we need to move forward."

Following the vote, Norton expressed relief that she still had a job and defiance that she had been suspended. "I did nothing wrong. Nothing," she said.

"I fought for her," Norton continued. "I didn’t back down. I didn’t quit when I’m pretty sure that they wanted me to just resign and say I’m done."

Norton did not indicate whether she would return to work in the district. Her son is now 16 and attends virtual school. He was previously class president and homecoming princess at Monarch High School.

According to WTVJ, several of the boy's former teammates said they either knew or at least suspected he was a male but never showered or changed clothes near him. They also added that they did not have a problem playing alongside a boy.

The Fairness in Women's Sports Act, signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021, forbids males to play on sports teams designated for females only.

The state athletic commission fined Monarch High School $16,500 in connection with Norton's son. The school could also face lawsuits in the future, should a female who did not make the team later claim she was denied a chance for scholarships, the AP reported.

Blaze News reached out to Gov. DeSantis for comment on Norton's suspension but did not receive a response.

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California bans state travel to Florida and four other states over Fairness in Women's Sports laws



California has now banned state employee travel to Florida and four more states because of laws that purportedly discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, the state attorney general announced Monday.

Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta restricted state-funded travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia, adding these states to a list that now includes 17 states where state-sponsored travel is prohibited.

"When states discriminate against LGBTQ+ Americans, California law requires our office to take action," Bonta said. "These new additions to the state-funded travel restrictions list are about exactly that. It's been 52 years to the day since the Stonewall Riots began, but that same fight remains all too alive and well in this country. Rather than focusing on solving real issues, some politicians think it's in their best interest to demonize trans youth and block life-saving care.

"Make no mistake: We're in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country — and the State of California is not going to support it."

The laws Bonta claims "demonize trans youth and block life-saving care" are fairness in women's sports bills, legislation that would prevent men who identify as transgender women from competing on sports teams associated with their self-proclaimed gender identity. California lawmakers banned nonessential travel to states that adopted or are considering such laws in 2016, a list that includes Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.

Bonta's office identified fairness in women's sports laws in Florida, Montana, Arkansas, and West Virginia as cause for the travel ban.

The attorney general also called out Arkansas for passing a law that makes transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone prescriptions illegal for minors and North Carolina for adopting a law that permits certain publicly funded student organizations, say a religious group, to restrict LGBT students from joining by citing conscience rights without losing funding.

Reacting to the announcement, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' office ridiculed California and accused "politicians in Sacramento" of failing to stand up for women's rights.

"Congratulations to California for somehow managing to create a new way to politicize its bureaucracy," DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw said. "The bill Governor DeSantis signed is not discriminatory; in fact, it's the opposite — the legislation ensures that women's sports remain fair. On the contrary, allowing biological males to compete in women's sports is discriminatory, because it puts girls and women at a disadvantage based on immutable, innate characteristics.

"It is disappointing that the politicians calling the shots in Sacramento are not willing to stand up for women and girls in California."

Pushaw added that despite the ban on state-funded travel, Florida will continue to welcome any Californians who wish to travel for tourism or to become new residents.

"In fact, I am originally from California myself — but I am thrilled to live in Florida now, because progressive dogma has turned my home state into a nightmare of crime, unemployment, closed schools, failing businesses, and high taxes," Pusahw said. "I respectfully suggest that California's government focus on fixing the problems in their own state instead of worrying about Florida."