Nassau County – Transgender girls and women will not be able to play on teams or in leagues at county venues anymore, as decided by the Nassau County Legislature.
The law was passed Monday night from 12 to 5. This is just one of many rules in the US that make it illegal for transgender athletes to play sports. The breakdown of the votes by party wasn’t released right away, but most of the seats are held by Republicans.
To protect the safety of women who play sports and the integrity of those sports, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, told CNN via email, “I am pleased that the Republican Majority in the legislature voted in favor of this common sense measure.”
The webpage for Nassau County says that it is the richest county in New York. The island is on Long Island, and Biden won it by 54.2% in the 2020 election.
Movement Advancement Project, a non-profit think tank, says that New York is one of only 25 states that does not have statewide rules that stop transgender students from playing sports teams that match their gender identity. The project’s data shows that some states have laws or rules that make it illegal to take part in this way.
There were yells of “shame, shame, shame” from the crowd when the bill was passed.
This is not the first time that transgender women and girls have been tried to be banned from Nassau County sports centers. Blakeman signed an order on February 22 that transgender girls and women would not be able to play at county grounds that match their gender identity. He said this was to make things more “fair for women and girls in sports.” In May, a judge on the New York Supreme Court threw it out, saying that Blakeman did not have the power to make such an order from the legislature.
Doctors, counselors, and people in the community said that the bill that passed on Monday was harmful and illegal, pointing out that transgender teens have higher suicide rates than cisgender teens.
A 16-year-old girl who said she supports LGBTQ+ people asked lawmakers to think again about the bill because “it hurts people.” You are responsible if people die. If people are hurting themselves, it’s your fault. Don’t forget that.
This is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say: suicide is the second most common cause of death for adults 10 to 14 years old and 20 to 34 years old.
The Trevor Project says that every year in the U.S., more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ teens and young adults ages 13 to 24 seriously think about committing suicide. And every 45 seconds, at least one person tries to kill themselves.
Law supporters in the area say the bill is not racist.
“We don’t hate anyone.” “I understand why you don’t agree with this bill; I do,” Republican Nassau County Legislator John Giuffrè said during the meeting. He voted in favor of the law.
A news release from the NYCLU says that in March, the New York Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels, a women’s flat track roller derby league from Nassau County. The lawsuit said that the now-defunct executive order broke New York’s human rights law and civil rights law. CNN has asked what’s going on with that case.
The group also spoke out on X after the bill was passed on Monday, calling it “a hateful and blatantly illegal bill.” They will be in court again if the bill is signed into law.
The Republican County Legislator Giuffrè says he thinks the law will be strong.
Giuffrè said, “I think that the court challenges will be lost and I think that the constitution… will win.”
In March, New York Attorney General Letitia James asked Bruce Blakeman, the executive of Nassau County, to take back his order. In a March news release, she called it a “discriminatory and transphobic executive order.”
CNN called James’ office on Monday night to get a response.
A Republican lawmaker named John R. Ferretti Jr. said, “What we’re doing is protecting women.” “The safety of their event and the fairness of their sports.”
His office says that the law will become law as soon as Blakeman signs it.
