Supreme Court Declines to Remove Ban on Biden’s Gender Discrimination Regulations

On Friday, the US Supreme Court rejected a plea from the Biden administration to lift a prohibition in various Republican-led states on expanding protection against sex discrimination for transgender students.

In April, President Joe Biden’s administration took steps to extend regulations that prohibit sex-based discrimination in schools to include gender identity.

Courts in 10 Republican-dominated states temporarily halted the regulations, prompting the administration to ask the Supreme Court for intervention.

However, in a 5-4 ruling, the justices chose not to intervene while the legal process at the state level unfolds.

Conservative justice Neil Gorsuch, along with the court’s three liberal justices, dissented partially.

These protections were among a broader set of new anti-discrimination rules, all of which will remain blocked in the Republican states pending ongoing legal challenges.

The dissenting justices advocated for the implementation of the less contentious regulations.

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed out that the court’s decision “maintains the preliminary injunctions that prevent the Government from enforcing the entire rule – even provisions unrelated to the respondents’ claimed grievances.”

“These injunctions are excessive,” she remarked.

AFP