Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
The state’s top Republican lawmakers contend that it is a medical condition and not a discriminatory state law that entitles Arizona to bar transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports.
In a new court filing, the attorney for Senate President Warren Petersen of Gilbert and House Speaker Ben Toma of Peoria told Judge Jennifer Zipps she got it wrong in concluding that “biological boys” who have not reached puberty have no inherent advantage over girls of the same age.
“As virtually any elementary-school sports coach can attest, there is a competitive advantage for boys over girls before puberty, and there is not a scintilla of evidence that puberty blockers and hormone therapy eliminate this advantage,” wrote Justin Smith.
Zipps, in her ruling last week, said that’s not what the evidence shows.
But Smith, in asking her to delay her order — and allow the state to enforce its 2022 law which bars transgender girls from competing with and against girls — has a new argument. He said the statute is not a matter of illegal discrimination.
“Their exclusion from girls’ teams is due to a medical condition, not the states’ sex-based separation of sports team,” he said.
