West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey told Newsmax Friday that the state's ban of transgender athletes in women's sports is "about doing what's right for women."
Morrisey said West Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the transgender ban in women's sports to be enforced after an injunction blocking the law was issued on Feb. 22 by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"To me and to the citizens of West Virginia, this is a matter of basic common sense and fairness," he said during an appearance on Newsmax's "American Agenda." "People want to do what will help provide additional opportunities for women. Women have succeeded and thrived under Title IX and by participating in women's sports.
"It's been a huge plus for women who were trying to move into leadership positions," he continued.
"Women love the sports opportunities. And so, all the West Virginia Legislature is asking is that biological males should not participate in those women's sports, because when you do that, it's not only unfair, it leads to displacement of the women. And that's not right for women who are trying to enjoy their experience and move up in the ranks."
The Mountain State GOP attorney general said that transgender prohibition "is about doing what's right for women." The law bars male public high school or post-secondary students from female athletic teams "based solely on the individual's reproductive biology and genetics at birth," according to Reuters.
"The facts in this case are actually wildly favorable for us, and here's why," Morrisey said. "Originally, after this law passed in the state of West Virginia, a lawsuit was quickly brought, there was an injunction placed on the law. But then, what we did is, we made 500 docket entries, 3,000 pages of evidence. We backed up the differences biologically between males and females.
"Then the district court judge — no fan of this law — after originally putting [an] injunction on it, he changed his position and not only lifts the injunction, we get a summary judgment for the state of West Virginia," he continued. "Then what happened is that the plaintiffs went to the 4th Circuit and in a 2 to 1 decision, the 4th Circuit, with no explanation, slapped the injunction back on."
Morrisey said the state is taking the case to the Supreme Court "because there was no rationale behind it."
"That's not how an appellate court is supposed to act," he said. "We think we're absolutely correct on the merits, and we want the Supreme Court to lift the injunction.
"It is about basic fairness," he stressed. "It's about avoiding displacement. It's about protecting women, and those are all noble goals."