Transphobic protest gear remains banned at N.H. school games

Two New Hampshire men wearing wristbands in protest of the presence of transgender girls at women’s soccer games are not allowed to wear them in the game or display protest signs while lawsuits against the school district are underway.

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Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foot were wearing wristbands between Bow High School and Plymouth Regional High during their September 17th match at Bow High School. The wristband was pink and displayed the “XX” symbol of the female chromosome. Both men have children in the arch school district.

School staff noticed wristbands early in the second half of the game. Along with local police officers, they told Feller and Foot that they must remove their wristbands and leave the match as the band could be considered a statement of threats or harassment by Tyrrell and that school policies prohibit these actions against any student.

“Feller initially resisted, denying that it had nothing to do with trans athletes participating in women’s sports, claiming that the pink band was merely to show support for the fight against breast cancer.” Monday’s opinion denies preliminary injunction The man was trying to prevent the district from enforcing policies against such protest equipment.

Both men eventually removed their wristbands, but after the game, Feller stands in the car park and holds a photo of Riley Gaines, a cisgender female athlete known to include trans women and girls in female sports, saying, “protecting women’s sports for female athletes.” “School officials were concerned that Feller intentionally placed herself on purpose, so the girls on the Plymouth Team Bass (particularly Parker Tirell) will see his exhibit when the bus leaves school property,” McAuliffe wrote. After some debate, the officer persuaded him to leave.

Both Fellers and Foote were then given an order of “no trespassing” except for them from the school’s premises. These orders are currently expired, but are prohibited from wearing wristbands or bringing in signs. Together with Feller’s former stepfather, Eldon Rush, and Foot’s wife, Nicole Foot, they sued the school district, claiming their initial right to amendment to free speech had been violated. They argued that they suffered from discrimination based on their perspective.

However, McAuliffe ruled that it was unlikely that men would succeed in their claims, so he denied the injunction. He said that the right to free speech is not absolute and that reasonable restrictions can be placed on “limited public forums” such as school athletic events. He also said that school behavior is based on its effectiveness, not on their perspective.

“Since gender identity is a characteristic of a “unchanging or deeply rooted” personal identity, “striking a person to the heart of his existence” is because the sleazy school authorities reasonably interpreted the symbols used by plaintiffs.

Brian Cullen, the district’s representative lawyer, Associated Press He welcomed the ruling. Feller or Foot do not prevent them from protesting in any other way, he said: “It simply prevents them from bringing their protest to the bystanders of the game where the kids are being played. It should not be a controversial limit.”

Del Colde, a senior lawyer at the Institute for Free Speech, who represents the plaintiffs, told the Associated Press that he disagreed with the judge’s finding that this was not discrimination against the perspective. “This was an adult speech in a limited public forum, which enjoys First Amendment protections over student speeches in the classroom,” Korde said. “Officers in the Bow School District were clearly discriminatory based on perspective, as they perceived the XX wristband as “exclusive.” ”

The attorneys for Fellers and Foote filed a notice saying they would not provide additional evidence prior to the judge’s final decision.

New Hampshire passed the law last year, with the exception of women’s school sports, but lawsuits filed against it by Tyrrell, Iris Turmell and their families are blocking it from enforcement. They challenged Donald Trump’s anti-trans sports order to lawsuits. They are represented by the New Hampshire affiliates of the Welcome Act and the American Civil Liberties Union.