America First Legal (AFL) has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, challenging the Biden-Harris Administration's redefinition of "sex" as "gender identity." The brief was submitted in the case State of Louisiana, et al. v. United States Department of Education, et al., with AFL arguing that this redefinition is an unlawful attack on women's rights.
Title IX of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational institutions receiving federal funding. For over fifty years, "sex" has been understood to mean biological sex—male or female—providing equal opportunities for women and girls. The Biden-Harris Administration seeks to redefine "sex" through an administrative rule that would require schools to define it as "gender identity." According to AFL, this change would allow biological males who identify as females access to girls' locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams.
Gene Hamilton, Executive Director of America First Legal, stated: “The anti-science Biden-Harris Administration wants you to believe that sex is a lie and that girls can be boys and boys can be girls. This mindset is incredibly dangerous, as this administration is unlawfully trying to force boys and men into private girls’ spaces in the name of ‘gender identity.’ This is the America that the Biden-Harris administration is actively working to create, one in which a young girl will have to worry about encountering a male in her restroom or locker room. It is despicable, and we will fight to stop that from becoming an accepted fact of life for girls across the country.”
On September 6, 2024, AFL filed a similar brief in Tennessee aiming to protect biological sex definitions. Earlier this year on April 29th, AFL joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in filing a lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Administration's policies.
AFL asserts its commitment to opposing efforts by the current administration and its allies that they believe aim to erase biological distinctions and undermine Title IX protections.