Alabama Judge Upholds LGBTQ Student Protections

NBC News reports:

A federal judge in Alabama on Tuesday refused to block the Biden administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in four Republican-led states, breaking with six other judges who have said the rules are invalid.

U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon in Birmingham in a 122-page ruling, rejected various arguments that the four states led by Alabama made in challenging U.S. Department of Education regulations that say a federal law barring sex discrimination in education extends to gender identity.

A total of 26 Republican-led states have sued over the rule, which is set to take effect on Thursday. Six other judges have blocked the rule from being enforced in 21 of those states pending the outcome of underlying lawsuits.

Read the full article. Axon was nominated by Trump. Alabama AG Steve Marshall [photo] was joined in the suit by attorneys general of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

A federal judge in Alabama refused to block the Biden administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in four Republican-led states, breaking with six other judges who have said the rules are invalid https://t.co/NEENohejfF pic.twitter.com/57MMuWIPbz

— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) July 31, 2024