Trump administration supports Idaho transgender sports ban

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A recently passed Idaho law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports — the first such law in the nation — received support from the Trump administration on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Justice in a filing in a federal lawsuit challenging the ban said the court should conclude that the law complies with the U.S. Constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Voice filed the lawsuit in April contending the law violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because it is discriminatory.

The Justice Department wrote that the “Equal Protection Clause does not require States to abandon their efforts to provide biological women with equal opportunity to compete for, and enjoy the life-long benefits that flow from, participation in school athletics in order to accommodate the team preferences of transgender athletes.”

Republican Gov. Brad Little on March 30 signed into law the measure that received overwhelming support in the Republican-dominated House and Senate, but no support from Democrats. It takes effect July 1, though the lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent that.

The ban prohibits transgender students who identify as female from playing on female teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universities. The ban does not apply to men’s teams.