A federal judge in New Hampshire sided with a local school district in a recent lawsuit to prevent parents from protesting a transgender athlete competing in women’s sports.
According to Fox News, in September, a group of parents wore pink-colored armbands labeled “XX” during a high school soccer game where a boy masquerading as a girl played against females. The wristbands represented female chromosomes.
Following this, the Bow and Dunbarton School Districts Superintendent Marcy Kelley issued a notice of trespass against the parents involved.
In response, the parents filed a lawsuit claiming that their First Amendment rights were violated.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe, who was appointed by President George H. W. Bush, sided with the school district that tried to stop the parents from protesting.
"While plaintiffs may very well have never intended to communicate a demeaning or harassing message directed at Parker Tirrell or any other transgender students, the symbols and posters they displayed were fully capable of conveying such a message," he reportedly wrote. “And, that broader messaging is what the school authorities reasonably understood and appropriately tried to prevent.”
"The broader and more demeaning/harassing message the School District understood plaintiffs’ ‘XX’ symbols to convey was, in context, entirely reasonable," McAuliffe wrote.
Brian Cullen, an attorney for the school district, reportedly said that he agreed with McAuliffe’s decision.
“It simply prevents them [the parents] from bringing their protest to the sidelines of a game being played by kids. That should not be a controversial limitation,” he said.
The transgender athlete that sparked this controversy, Parker Tirrell, previously tried to overturn a statute banning boys in girls’ sports.
"I'm not a boy. I'm a girl. My safety, well-being, and sense of belonging matter just as much as anyone else's." Parker Tirrell is suing to overturn NH's ban on boys in girls' sports. How will puberty blockers and estrogen affect his safety and well-being? #HB1205 pic.twitter.com/SDmSahG89X
— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) August 21, 2024