Feb. 12 (UPI) — Two transgender teens challenging a New Hampshire law banning trans people from playing in girls’ sports will now expand it to include the Trump administration’s recent anti-transgender orders.
On Wednesday, attorneys for Parker Tirrell, 16, and Iris Turmelle, 15, filed an amended legal complaint in Concord to ask a court to expand the case on a national level to challenge executive orders recently signed by President Donald Trump.
Last week, the president signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. Among other acts, it threatens to end federal funding for educational programs allowing transgender women to participate in girls’ sports.
Chris Erchull, a senior staff attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) which represents one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that Trump’s executive order and others “amount to a coordinated campaign to prevent transgender people from functioning in society.”
Their state lawsuit in conjunction with the ACLU of New Hampshire remains pending which goes after HB 1205 — known as the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” — which was signed into law in July. A federal judge in September ordered the state to allow the teens to play on the female sports teams while litigation pans out.
“All students do better when they have access to resources that improve their mental, emotional and physical health,” says Henry Klementowicz, deputy legal director at ACLU of N.H.
Tirrell, a sophomore at Plymouth Regional High School, plays on the high school soccer team.
“I love playing soccer and we had a great season last fall,” she said. “I just want to go to school like other kids and keep playing the game I love.”
Sara Tirrell, Parker’s mother, stated that her parents “just want her to be happy, healthy, and know she belongs — the same things any parent wants for their child. It’s just not right for the federal government to come down so hard on a kid.”
Turmelle, a freshman at Pembroke Academy, has eyes set on joining the tennis team.
“The chance to try out for tennis means new teammates, new friends, and a sense of fun and belonging,” she said. “I just want the same opportunities as other girls at my school.”
“It’s heartbreaking to have the federal government so aggressively go after our daughter,” Amy Manzelli and Chad Turmelle wrote in a joint statement. “Iris is looking forward to playing spring sports and being part of a team. We just want her to be able to attend school and get the most out of her education — on and off the court.”
This new list of defendants includes Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the U.S. Department of Education and Denise Carter, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
Meanwhile, the Education Department has urged the NCAA and the NFHS to restore its female athletes‘ records and awards, arguing it was “wrongfully erased” by biological males who “unfairly competed” in women’s sports.
GLAD’s Erchull went on to say that school sports is “an important part of education — something no child should be denied simply because of who they are.”
“Our clients Parker and Iris simply want to go to school, learn and play on teams with their peers,” he said.