Staff Reports
The Supreme Court recently decided to throw a rhetorical wrench into the Biden administration’s plans for Title IX, inviting two Republican-led states, Louisiana and Tennessee, to weigh in on the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce an outfit of new Title IX rules amid a flurry of legal blocks. For those keeping track, the Biden administration seems determined to redefine what it means to be a woman, and this latest move is just the latest episode in an ongoing saga that has left many scratching their heads (and possibly their wallets).
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar felt emboldened enough to knock on the Supreme Court’s door with petitions aimed at reviewing preliminary injunctions from courts that have taken a strong stance against these sweeping rules. It appears that both the 5th and 6th U.S. Circuit Courts decided that the Biden administration’s education policies were less of an equitable solution and more of a baffling mess. These circuit courts had previously denied the Education Department’s attempts to bring portions of the rule into effect while legal battles rage on.
Washington Examiner: Supreme Court seeks GOP states’ response to Justice Department’s Title IX restoration bid https://t.co/j6wAJTgcL3
— Ian Hansen 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHansenFeed) July 23, 2024
The Department of Justice, not one to take these setbacks lightly, argues that the overall injunctions are overreaching and hold up a slew of provisions they deem pivotal for safeguarding students against sex discrimination. It’s a classic case of bureaucratic overreach where the administration insists that the changes must go forward or risk denying students their “civil rights.” But here’s the kicker: the 6th Circuit said that mingling gender identity and the sex definition made the entire rule irreparably flawed. Talk about a house of cards!
This summer’s ruckus over Title IX isn’t the federal administration’s proudest moment as it faces blow after blow ahead of a planned implementation date. Fourteen states are actively enjoying their time out of the Title IX pool, thanks to legal challenges asserting that the changes may well allow biological males to invade female sports spaces. This has ignited a fire within conservative circles, as they see this as yet another bid by the left to erase the distinctions that define women’s sports.
On one front, state attorneys general from Louisiana and Tennessee claim that the Biden administration is trying to twist a Supreme Court ruling from 2020, known as Bostock v. Clayton County, to justify its gender identity definitions. In essence, they’re arguing that this new Title IX reinterpretation is less about protecting rights and more about muddling the waters in favor of a progressive agenda.
As the Supreme Court gears up for its fall term, petitions from Idaho and West Virginia have added yet another layer to this layered legal onion, seeking clarity on whether biological males should be allowed to compete alongside biological females in sports. The justices appear to be taking their sweet time deciding whether to take on this cauldron of controversy. With Title IX shaping up to be one of the thorniest culture war battlegrounds in recent memory, the upcoming court term promises to be one for the books. Responses from Louisiana and Tennessee will be expected soon, and one can only wonder what the future holds for women’s rights in the athletic world.
