US Appeals Court to Consider Idaho Transgender Athletes Ban

BOISE, IDAHO - An appeals court on Monday will consider the constitutionality of the first law in the nation banning transgender women and girls from playing on women's sports teams.  

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case that will likely have far-ranging consequences as more states follow conservative Idaho's lead.  Idaho passed its law last year, and more than 20 states have considered such proposals this year. Bans have been enacted in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia. Florida lawmakers passed a bill, and South Dakota's governor issued an executive order.  On Monday, conservative Republican lawmakers in Kansas failed to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's veto of a proposed ban on transgender athletes in girls' and women's school sports.