South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a coalition of 21 states in challenging a Colorado school district’s policy that assigns student accommodations on field trips and sporting events according to gender identity. The policy, which was upheld by a federal district court after Christian parents filed suit against it, is now being appealed with the support of multiple state attorneys general.
“As the father of a teenage daughter who plays sports, I can’t imagine her going to an out-of-town sporting event and rooming with a biological boy,” said Attorney General Wilson. “Protecting girls in private spaces is common sense and one that I will never quit fighting for.”
The group of attorneys general argues that the court’s decision treats Christians with traditional views on human sexuality as second-class citizens. They also contend that the school district’s approach relies on guidelines regarding pediatric gender dysphoria that they consider discredited.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Wilson and officials from 27 other states requested the Supreme Court allow states to enact laws requiring participants in girls’ sports to be biological females. Laws in West Virginia and Idaho aimed at protecting girls’ sports were struck down by appellate courts. South Carolina passed similar legislation in 2022 known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, which classifies sports teams based on biological sex at birth rather than gender identity.
Other states joining Wilson in filing the friend-of-the-court brief include Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Arizona state legislature also joined.
The brief supporting the appeal can be accessed online.
