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News briefs: transgender athletes, Gaetz wants to #FreeBritney and more
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Florida’s transgender athlete ban has been challenged in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a trans middle-schooler
BY DARA KAM, NSF
A13-year-old Broward County soccer player and her parents are challenging a new state law that bans transgender female athletes from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams, arguing that it is unconstitutional and “ignores basic medical science” about trans students.
The measure (SB 1028), one of the most hotly debated issues of the 2021 legislative session, will make female athletes’ eligibility for sports teams contingent on their “biological sex” on birth certificates issued “at or near the time of the student’s birth.”
The legislation, signed June 1 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is similar to proposals considered or passed this year by numerous other Republican-controlled legislatures across the country.
In a federal lawsuit filed last Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida, lawyers for the student identified by the initials D.N. and her parents alleged that the new law will force her to abandon “the sports that mean so much to her” because she will not be able to participate on high-school girls’ athletic teams.
The ban is unconstitutionally discriminatory and violates a federal law, known as Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools or education programs that receive federal money, the lawsuit said.
D.N. would be “sidelined and ostracized solely because of her gender identity” if she isn’t allowed to play on girls’ and women’s teams, lawyers with the Human Rights Campaign, a national non-profit organization that advocates for LGBTQ rights, and the Arnold & Porter firm wrote in the 20-page complaint.
According to the lawsuit, D.N. has identified as a girl since she was a young child and has participated in girls’ sports for many years.
“D.N. dreams of being on high school sports teams, whether it is in soccer or volleyball. She cannot imagine life without these experiences and feels it would be cruel to take this opportunity away from her. D.N. has lived as a girl for years now and this is her true identity,” her lawyers argued.
Republican lawmakers tucked the transgender athlete ban into a wide-ranging education bill in an eleventh-hour move during the legislative session that ended April 30. DeSantis and other supporters maintain that the ban is necessary to prevent male athletes from having a competitive edge over female competitors.
“I can tell you this, in Florida, girls are going to play girls’ sports, and boys are going to play boys’ sports. That’s what we’re doing, and we’re going to make sure that that’s the reality,” DeSantis said as he signed the bill on the first day of June’s Pride Month.
But critics contend that the ban will further isolate transgender students who are already at risk of being bullied or worse.
D.N., referred to as “Daisy” in a news release issued by the Human Rights Campaign, takes estrogen and her testosterone levels have been suppressed for more than a year, her attorneys said in the lawsuit.
“D.N.’s identity and development are that of a girl and she is on estrogen. She has no competitive advantage merely because of the sex assigned to her at birth. Now and when she enters high school, from an athletic perspective, she is similarly situated to her cisgender female teammates,” they argued.
The state law runs afoul of Title IX and federal regulations, which do not permit “a state or locality to discriminate based solely on a person’s gender assigned to them at birth,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers said. The law also violates transgender female athletes’ equal protection rights, the lawyers argued, because “it is neither tailored to the achievement of a compelling governmental interest nor substantially related to an important state interest.”
“Florida’s purported state interest in athletic ‘fairness’ ignores basic medical science about transgender students, as well as the impact of hormone suppressants,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.
Under the new law, other students who contend they are “deprived of an athletic opportunity” or suffer “direct or indirect harm” because of violations of the transgender ban will be able to sue schools or colleges.
Transgender girls “must now face the risk their participation will be subject to legal challenge,” D.N.’s lawyers wrote. “Any such suit would, of necessity, require production of private medical and academic records, which in any other context would not be available to other students or those students’ families, let alone the general public.”
The law would subject D.N. “to an invasion of privacy” if she had to participate on boys’ teams and use boys’ locker rooms, although she is receiving estrogen and will continue to develop as a girl through puberty, her lawyers said.
“Her social network and support system are the girls on her team, and she would be ostracized and bullied if she were to be forced to be on a boys’ team. Compelling her to be on the boys’ team also would force her to disclose her transgender status to the entire school,” they argued.
The ban violates transgender female athletes’ constitutional right to privacy, wrote D.N.’s lawyers, who are asking a judge for an injunction against the law.
In a statement provided to the News Service of Florida, House Speaker Chris Sprowls defended the new law, dubbed the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.”
“We believe in protecting the integrity of women’s sports and this legislation ensures that they can have the same opportunities as anyone else without unfair competition. The legislation is the result of rigorous dialogue and grounded in fact-based science. I trust the court system will ultimately rule on the side of Florida’s athletes and not corporate pressure,” Sprowls said.
Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for DeSantis, said last Wednesday that the governor’s office had not been served in the lawsuit yet “but we believe the case to be without merit.”
The Human Rights Campaign also plans to challenge similar laws in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, according to last Wednesday’s news release.
“Given the unprecedented onslaught of state legislative attacks, we have a responsibility to utilize every tool in our belt to safeguard the LGBTQ community, including suing the states that infringe upon our civil rights,” said Alphonso David, the organization’s president.
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Florida passes law creating tracking system for sexual assault kits
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed “Gail’s Law,” legislation that would create a tracking system for sexual assault kits and a framework through which survivors can check on the status of tested and untested kits.
The bill was named for Gail Gardner, an Orlando-area woman who was assaulted in 1988 and waited more than 30 years for samples taken by forensic examiners to be tested. Several decades after Gardner was assaulted at knifepoint by a man who broke into her home, the longdelayed testing found that the perpetrator was already in prison on a litany of other assault charges.
The act was pushed in the Florida legislature by Orlando State Sen. Linda Stewart, who celebrated its passage in a statement.
“I’m so proud to see Gail’s Law signed and become law, as this will empower survivors and lead to perpetrators being apprehended more quickly,” said Stewart. “After suffering through an assault, many survivors feel powerless in a system that can be overwhelming, confusing, and often fails to provide the appropriate support. Gail’s Law would bring accountability and transparency to the process — placing the power back in the hands of survivors.”
Gardner herself also hoped that the law would keep future Floridians from dealing with the decades of uncertainty she faced.
“I waited 32 fear and anxiety-filled years to hear anything about my kit and my case, and I know others are experiencing that tragedy right now. My heart aches for them,” she said in a statement. “Gail’s Law will help fix the problem and bring some healing to survivors who deserve no less. Now, I’m satisfied but let’s look forward to the day when a Rape Kit Tracking System will no longer be needed.” — Alex Galbraith
Criminal case against COVID-19 whistleblower Rebekah Jones to continue
A Leon County circuit judge last Tuesday refused to dismiss a criminal charge against former state COVID-19 data analyst Rebekah Jones, who has been accused of illegally accessing a Florida Department of Health computer system.
Judge Francis Allman issued a one-page order denying Jones’ motion to dismiss the case but did not explain the decision.
Jones, who was fired from her health department position in May 2020, has received national attention after alleging that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration manipulated data about COVID-19 cases and deaths. The attention increased in December when Jones posted a video of armed state agents executing a search warrant at her home.
Prosecutors in January charged her with illegally accessing the computer system Nov. 10. Authorities have accused her of sending a message on an internal Department of Health multi-user messaging account.
“It’s time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You don’t have to be part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it’s too late,” the message said.
Jones has denied sending the message. In a June 10 motion to dismiss the case, her attorneys said the system was used by multiple people who shared a username and password.
“For purposes of this motion to dismiss, the allegations do not amount to a crime no matter who accessed the (account), because all access was accomplished through a widely available username and password,” the motion to dismiss said. — News Service of Florida
Florida rep. Matt Gaetz invites Britney Spears to testify before Congress about conservatorship
Politics means occasionally finding yourself on the same side as some real weirdos. So it goes with Britney Spears fans, who now have embattled congressman Matt Gaetz in their camp.
Following a week of heartbreaking testimony and a judge’s denial of the singer’s request to remove her father’s legal conservatorship over her $60 million estate, Gaetz is asking Spears to testify before Congress in the hopes that public pressure will help bring an end to the 39-year-old singer’s lack of control over her own affairs.
“We have been following your conservatorship battle with deep concern. We could see the struggle and torment you were enduring. We could see the obvious financial, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of your conservators,” Gaetz wrote in a letter to the former pop star. “Your life, liberty, and happiness have been taken from you. Please take advantage of the empowerment that public congressional testimony can unlock.”
During her testimony regarding a since-denied November request to remove her father Jamie Spears’ conservatorship, Britney Spears explained that she was forced to take lithium against her will.
“Lithium is a very, very strong [medication] and completely different medication than what I’ve been on. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much,” Spears said during the hearing.
Spears has been under conservatorship for 13 years, following a series of hospitalizations in 2008.
“You owe nothing to anyone; you deserve to live a life of freedom and to choose your own path,” Gaetz wrote in his request to the singer last Thursday. “We stand with you, Britney — whatever you decide.” — AG
World’s Largest White Castle had 20 health code violations in first inspection
If the lines around the World’s Largest White Castle have kept you away from the burger behemoth on Daryl Carter Parkway, get ready to nod smugly. In the restaurant’s first health inspection after its opening bonanza, the restaurant received 20 health code violations, including nine high-priority infractions.
Nine of the violations from the June 25 inspection were rated basic, minor infractions, ranging from employees wearing jewelry while preparing food to a lack of proper signage in the store. Intermediate violations included a possible mold growing in an ice machine and inconsistent hot water temperatures at sinks throughout the restaurant.
The high-priority violations largely concerned food being stored improperly or kept at an improper temperature once cooked. Uncooked eggs, vanilla ice cream mix and hamburger patties were all found to be held at temperatures outside of a safe range. The eggs were also stored improperly, held near ready-to-eat raw food.
Rehydrated onions used in the restaurant were found to be made the day before and the health inspector forced the restaurant to cease using them during the inspection. The inspector noted that a toxic cleaner was stored near singleservice items like food trays and had the issue corrected immediately.
One employee was found to move from working with raw meat to working with buns without washing their hands in the interim. Perhaps most concerning, the inspection noted the presence of flying insects throughout the restaurant. The inspector advised management about pest control options.
A follow-up inspection three days later noted that many of the issues had been corrected, barring buildup in the ice machine and the water temperature of various sinks. — AG
Confused homing pigeons in Florida shut down I-95 exit
Another day in Florida, another crazy wildlife story.
Last Tuesday night, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office began receiving phone calls from drivers who said that doves were wreaking havoc on an exit along Interstate 95. After state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and animal control workers went to the scene, they found that a crate of 100 homing pigeons had fallen off a truck. Removing the birds was tough: The pigeons steadfastly refused to move, as they roost at night, and the bright headlights startled the settled pigeons, causing them to fly at oncoming traffic. Workers and law enforcement had no choice but to close the exit for three hours while they captured the confused birds. Authorities were able to rescue 73 pigeons, but the birds weren’t banded so their owner is unknown, per the Associated Press. — Maria Briceno
