Ellison files preemptive lawsuit against Trump on transgender sports ban
ST PAUL Minn AP Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a preemptive lawsuit Tuesday against Republican President Donald Trump seeking to block his administration from acting against Minnesota in the way it s taking on Maine under a federal push to ban transgender athletes from girls and women s sports Minnesota brings this lawsuit to stop President Trump and his administration from bullying vulnerable children in this state Ellison explained at a news conference quoting the opening line from the lawsuit naming Trump and his attorney general Pam Bondi When Bondi informed the administration s lawsuit against Maine last week she warned that Minnesota and California could be next The administration s lawsuit followed weeks of feuding between Trump and Democratic Gov Janet Mill of Maine that led to a clash at the White House when she notified Trump We ll see you in court With this incident Ellison is trying to beat Trump and Bondi to the courthouse The federal lawsuit asks the court to declare Trump s two executive orders on the matter and letters that the Justice Department has sent to Minnesota threatening to cut off schooling funding if the state doesn t comply unconstitutional and bar their enforcement Ellison narrated reporters that the orders violate the constitutional separation of powers by usurping Congress authority to legislate He stated the orders also violate the federal law known as Title IX which prohibits sex-based discrimination in guidance programs and pursuits that receive federal funds The Minnesota Human Rights Act has protected transgender rights since and Democratic Gov Tim Walz signed regulation in making the state a refuge for transgender children coming from other states for gender-affirming care Ellison issued a formal legal opinion in February that mentioned the state s human rights protections supersede Trump s exective order on sports and the attorney general declared his guidance is legally binding in Minnesota unless a court rules otherwise Trump s burning desire to destroy trans kids and punish us for helping them live and thrive isn t just a violation of law it s a violation of Minnesota values Ellison mentioned And we re not going to sell out trans kids or any vulnerable locality just to stay in the good graces of a lawless administration The White House and Department of Justice did not directly respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit But the top Republican in state governing body House Speaker Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring backed Trump s position It s extremely disappointing that Attorney General Ellison would rather jeopardy federal funding and file yet another taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the Trump administration than just do the right thing and keep boys out of girls sports Demuth disclosed in a comment It s a waste of taxpayer money to further a political agenda that makes girls less safe and makes sports less fair Ellison was joined at his news conference by parents of transgender children and human rights activists incuding state Rep Leigh Finke of St Paul Minnesota s first openly transgender legislator Addressing Trump and his supporters Finke explained LGBTQ people have inevitably existed in every practices throughout history No law no approach no hate-fueled campaign will ever change that So I m asking you to just please stop trying Finke reported To those of you in that world who still are capable of hearing from those of us outside of it understand this All that we ask is to be left in peace to live and love and without fear Dr Kelsey Leonardsmith who treats transgender children from several states at the Family Tree Clinic in Minneapolis and is a professor at the University of Minnesota Therapeutic School explained transgender girls and women are already underrepresented in sports and make up just a tiny percentage of novice athletes She disputed the contention of critics that allowing them to participate in girls sports gives them unfair advantages and puts other girls in physical danger Shutting out trans girls helps no one and it is profoundly harmful to those it excludes Leonardsmith disclosed On the surface it removes opportunities for physical activity for fitness for belonging But on a more fundamental level it says to trans youth We do not believe you you are not real and it is hard to imagine a more damaging message to send to children The post Ellison files preemptive lawsuit against Trump on transgender sports ban appeared first on MinnPost
