OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:02 PM – Thursday, January 9, 2025
After the Biden administration attempted to redefine biological sex in Title IX as “gender identity,” a federal judge in Kentucky shot down the shift nationwide.
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The case of Cardona v. Tennessee was decided on Thursday by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, Northern Division.
After concluding that the 1,500-page regulation was “fatally” polluted by legal flaws, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves struck it down.
“Another massive win for TN and the country!” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti in a post on X. “This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin’s radical new Title IX rule nationwide.
“The court’s order is [a] resounding victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns.”
Regarding the decision, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also issued a statement.
“It is clear the Biden-Harris administration completely lost its way on Title IX. They betrayed the original intent of Title IX by removing longstanding protections that ensured fairness for women and girls. Good to see this harmful regulation overturned,” Cassidy stated. “With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom.”
The decision was made months after the Supreme Court denied the Biden administration’s emergency plea to implement parts of a new regulation that would have given transgender-identifying students Title IX “rights.” It would have essentially allowed any biological man or boy the right to utilize female spaces like locker rooms, open showers, and restrooms, while also allowing them to join female sports teams.
The comprehensive rule, which was released in April, made it clear that “discrimination” against people based on their preferred “gender identity” or sexual orientation is covered by Title IX’s prohibition on “sex” discrimination in schools.
For the first time, the law declared that behavior pertaining to a person’s gender identification is considered sex discrimination, and the rule went into force on August 1st.
Soon after, more than two dozen attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the rule, arguing that it would be in violation of state laws that prohibit transgender-identifying biological male students from playing on women’s and girl’s sports teams.
“When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female,” the court’s opinion stated. “As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.”
The recent ruling represents a “colossal win for women and girls” in the United States, according to a statement from Alliance Defending Freedom’s president, CEO, and general counsel, Kristen Waggoner.
“The Biden administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex not only tossed fairness, safety, and privacy for female students out the window, it also threatened free speech and parental rights,” she added. “With this ruling, the federal court in Kentucky rejected the entire Biden rule and the administration’s illegal actions. We are thankful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other state attorneys general who challenged this blatant overreach alongside our courageous clients.
“This ruling provides enormous relief for students across the country, including our client, who has already suffered harassment by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. The U.S. Supreme Court can further protect girls like our client by granting cases brought by the ACLU against West Virginia and Idaho laws that protect women’s sports.”
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