New York county's transgender sports ban takes effect

A Long Island county law that bars transgender girls and women from competing in county-run girls’ and women's sports facilities took effect Monday.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, or NYCLU, and Attorney General Letitia James filed separate lawsuits against the measure on the same day, both arguing that it violates state anti-discrimination laws.

The Nassau County Legislature passed the law last month in a 12-5 vote along party lines, and county executive Bruce Blakeman signed it Monday.

“I am gratified that the Republican majority in the Legislature voted in favor of this common sense measure to protect the integrity of women’s sports and the safety of women participants,” Blakeman, a Republican and Trump ally, said after the measure passed.

Blakeman did not immediately return a request for additional comment.

Under the law, sports leagues and programs that want to book county-run parks or athletics facilities are required to “expressly designate” as either a men’s team, a women’s team or a coed team based on the assigned sex at birth of the team’s competitors when applying for a permit to use county parks or facilities.

It prohibits the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation & Museums from issuing permits to sports organizations that allow transgender women to compete on women’s teams. However, the law allows the county to grant permits to sports organizations that allow trans men to compete on men’s teams.

The law is similar to an executive order Blakeman issued in February that was challenged by the Long Island Roller Rebels, a women’s roller derby league. A New York judge struck down the order in May, writing that Blakeman didn’t have the authority to issue such an order, which would require a law