Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s quest to prevent trans women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports in the county was dealt another blow in court this month.
On April 12, a federal judge dismissed Blakeman’s pre-emptive lawsuit intended to protect his February executive order, which banned trans women and girls from participating in women and girls’ sports in Nassau County facilities, from an order he’d been given to rescind that executive order, issued as a cease-and-desist order from the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
In March, ahead of a deadline to rescind his order established by the Attorney General, Blakeman filed a 12-page suit in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York seeking a declaratory judgment on the matter.
In April, Judge Nusrat Choudhury said that the county failed to demonstrate “irreparable harm” and standing in appealing a ruling made on the matter earlier in April, and thereby dismissed Blakeman’s lawsuit.
“This decision is a tremendous victory for justice and the rule of law, but our work here is not done. County Executive Blakeman’s executive order is transphobic, and we have no room for hate in New York,” Attorney General James’ office said in a statement. “It’s past time for Nassau County to rescind this order and treat all our communities with the basic respect and dignity they deserve.”
Attorney General James previously called Blakeman’s order “blatantly illegal” and “transphobic and discriminatory,” also noting via a spokesperson that the matter is “not up for debate.”
In response to this latest news, Blakeman commented, “This decision will not deter us from protecting the integrity and fairness of women’s sports and the safety of its participants …
According to the logic of the decision on the temporary restraining order, the county would have to wait for a young girl to be paralyzed before taking action.”
In March, a separate lawsuit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union against Nassau County, arguing that Blakeman’s executive order, which remains in effect, was discriminatory under state law.
The plaintiff in that lawsuit, filed against Nassau County on March 11, is the Long Island Roller Rebels, a Nassau County-based recreational women’s flat track roller derby league, which welcomes trans women. According to the team and their attorneys, the group is now barred from using Nassau County’s facilities under the broad-ranging new order, which immediately went into effect on Feb. 22.
Earlier this month, Attorney General James also filed a separate motion with the U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, arguing that Blakeman’s legal challenge to James’ order should be thrown out because, for one thing, the 11th Amendment protects her office and the state from such claims.
