U.S. Supreme Court, by 7-2 vote, won't lift injunction shelving West Virginia transgender sports law

That would have forced Pepper-Jackson off her middle school team.

Three civil rights groups had asked the justice to allow the Fourth Circuit's injunction to stand: The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Lambda Legal.

Chief Justice John Roberts, and justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and and Ketanji Brown Jackson sided with the Fourth Circuit. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying they would have granted the state's application.

They issued a statement applauding the ruling: 

“We are grateful that the Supreme Court today acknowledged that there was no emergency and that Becky should be allowed to continue to participate with her teammates on her middle school track team, which she has been doing without incident for three going on four seasons, as our challenge to West Virginia’s onerous trans youth sports ban makes its way through the courts. This was a baseless and cruel effort to keep Becky from where she belongs–playing alongside her peers as a teammate and as a friend."

Morrisey called Thursday's ruling "a procedural setback," but said they "remain confident that when this case is ultimately determined on the merits, we will prevail. We maintain our stance that this is a common sense law—we have a very strong case. It’s just basic fairness and common sense to not have biological males play in women’s sports.”

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Christiana Kiefer also issued a statement, saying the ruling Thursday "didn't end this case."

"While we hoped the Supreme Court would lift the injunction that the 4th Circuit imposed—with no explanation — on West Virginia’s women’s sports law, we remain committed to protecting female athletes by continuing to litigate this case in the court of appeals, and across the country through other lawsuits defending women’s sports," Kiefer said.

In April 2021, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed HB 3293 into law, barring transgender student athletes from participating on the school athletic teams most consistent with their gender identity. In May 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of West Virginia, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of Becky Pepper Jackson, a 12-year-old girl who would be kicked off her middle school’s track and field team if the law were enforced.

West Virginia is one of 19 states that have banned transgender student athletes in the last three years as part of an escalating wave of state-level restrictions on the rights of transgender people, according to the civil rights groups. Similar federal lawsuits are pending in Idaho and Tennessee.