Arkansas A.G. to Appeal to Eighth Circuit in Support of SAFE Act

Transgender, ,

On Friday Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to take up the case surrounding the state’s Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

The SAFE Act is a 2021 law that protects children in Arkansas from sex-reassignment procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

It’s a very good law that passed with strong support from the Arkansas Legislature.

Researchers do not know the long term effects that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids. That is why many experts agree that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children is experimental, at best.

That’s also why a major hospital in Sweden announced earlier this year that it would no longer administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

However, the ACLU and others filed a lawsuit against the SAFE Act. Last July a federal judge in Little Rock blocked the state from enforcing this good law.

Now the Attorney General’s office is preparing to appeal that bad decision before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A schedule produced by the the Eighth Circuit indicated that the Attorney General and the ACLU will file court briefings in the case throughout a good portion of October, November, and December. At this point, it is unclear when the court might make a decision in the case.

It’s great to see Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office appealing to the Eighth Circuit to let the state enforce the SAFE Act.

Arkansas’ SAFE Act is a good law that protects children. We believe higher courts will recognize that fact and uphold this good law as the case is appealed.

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Federal Judge Blocks Law Protecting Women’s Sports in West Virginia

Transgender,

On Wednesday a federal judge temporarily blocked a West Virginia law that protects fairness in women’s sports.

West Virginia recently passed legislation that prevents biological males from competing in female athletics.

The judge’s preliminary injunction lets a biologically male runner compete in girls’ cross-country.

Over the past few years we have seen biological males dominate women’s athletics in some parts of the country.

Alliance Defending Freedom writes,

At the 2019 Connecticut Indoor Track & Field State Championships, Selina [Soule] finished one place away from qualifying for finals, and the opportunity to compete for a qualifying spot at the New England Regional Championships in the 55-meter dash. The first and second spots in the race were taken by two male athletes. This was a massive disappointment for Selina. It meant she had to sit on the sidelines instead of competing in front of college scouts!

Had those two biological boys not been allowed to compete, Selina could have qualified to run the 55-meter event at the New England regionals. The male who won Selina’s race set a girls’ state indoor record of 6.95 seconds in the 55-meter dash and went on to win the New England titles in both the 55-meter dash and the 300-meter dash.

Letting male athletes who claim to be female compete against women can be more than just unfair. In some cases, it actually can be dangerous.

As John Stonestreet at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview noted in 2016,

In a 2014 Mixed Martial Arts fight, a transgendered fighter, Fallon Fox, destroyed Tamikka Brents, giving Brents a concussion and breaking her eye socket. As Brents put it, “I’ve fought a lot of women and have never felt the strength that I felt in a fight as I did that night.” She continued, “I’ve never felt so overpowered ever in my life” and “I’m an abnormally strong female in my own right.”

And mind you, Fox underwent reassignment surgery in 2006 and had been on hormone therapy ever since. In other words, Fox is as “transitioned” as a transgendered athlete can be, and still the competition was blatantly unfair.

Stories like these underscore why the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 461 of 2021 earlier this year.

This good law by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) prevents male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics. The measure passed with strong support from legislators, and Governor Hutchinson signed it into law last March.

Act 461 is a good law that protects fairness in women’s sports at school in Arkansas. It is slated to take effect next week.

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