Nassau County faces 2 civil rights lawsuits after executive signs trans athlete ban

New York Attorney General Letitia James and the New York Civil Liberties Union sued Nassau County on Monday, just hours after the county executive signed a law banning transgender girls and women from playing sports at county-run facilities.

The separate lawsuits seek to block the ban, which county legislators passed last month and which went into effect once Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed it into law.

James, who is a Democrat, and the NYCLU allege that it violates state human and civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based on gender identity.

“With this law, Nassau County is once again attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from participating in sporting events while claiming to support fairness,” James said in an emailed statement. NYCLU staff attorney Gabriella Larios said it was “abundantly clear” that the county’s ban was illegal under state law.

“It was true when we successfully struck down County Executive Blakeman’s transphobic policy and it is true now,” she said, referring to a state Supreme Court ruling in May that blocked a similar executive order instituted by Blakeman , which the NYCLU had sued over.

In a statement on Monday, Blakeman said he was “very disappointed that the Attorney General would attempt to frustrate Nassau County’s desire to protect the integrity of women’s sports, ensure the safety of its participants and provide a safe environment for girls and women to compete.” He has previously said he would vigorously defend the ban, citing support from county residents and concerns about fairness in sports.

Legislators in the conservative-leaning Long Island county have sparred with civil rights advocates and top Democrats over such a ban for months.

Blakeman issued his executive order in February, leading to the original NYCLU lawsuit in March. Around the same time, Blakeman filed a preemptive suit aiming to stave off potential litigation from James’ office, which had signaled that it was prepared to take legal action against his order. That suit was dismissed by a federal judge in April.

After the state Supreme Court overturned Blakeman’s policy on the grounds that it exceeded his legal authority, the Nassau County Legislature in June passed a bill upholding the ban . Blakeman signed that bill on Monday, officially making it law and rebuffing accusations that it was transphobic.

“This isn't about transgender rights, it’s really about fairness to women and fairness in competition,” he said, invoking support from former Olympic athlete and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner . “We’ve had lesbian athletes approach us all and say, ‘You're doing the right thing. We want integrity, fairness, and safety in our sporting events.’”

Now, the county is again poised to enter another legal battle over its decision to uphold the ban. Larios with the NYCLU said her organization had expected county leaders to try to enact the ban through the lawmaking process after the state judge struck down the executive order.

“From the moment that the judge issued that decision, we had a sense that Blakeman would try this again through the Legislature, and here we are now,” she said in a recent interview.

Blakeman told reporters at a press conference in June that he anticipated more litigation but remained confident that the measure would hold up in court. He argued that the county could enact the ban because it’s meant to protect cisgender women, and that “women and girls have the better claim” to protection under the law.

“We believe that women are a protected class under the federal government and therefore it trumps the state government,” he said. “State government legislation isn’t really clear: What do you do when you have two protected classes?”

But Larios told Gothamist that civil rights and transgender advocates had federal law on their side. She said New York had enacted its Human Rights Law and regulations “against the backdrop of Title IX and federal [anti-discrimination] law.”

Critics of Blakeman, including members of Nassau County’s Legislature, have accused him of seeking to generate publicity for his political future by doubling down on the ban.

“That’s the allure — it’s a moth to the flame,” Democratic county legislator Scott Davis, who voted against the measure, told Gothamist. “You pick on low-hanging fruit that is a divisive issue, you invite everyone to go down the rabbit hole and everyone fights with each other and you’re smiling.”

Susan Gottehrer, who heads the NYCLU’s Nassau County chapter, said the bill’s supporters could not provide evidence that it was necessary. “This is really irresponsible governing,” she said. “We didn’t elect our officials to pass hateful laws that they know are illegal, a waste of time and a waste of resources.”