By Kayleigh Anderson
The Nassau County Legislature voted 12-5 to bar transgender athletes from playing at county-owned facilities unless they compete on teams matching the gender they were assigned at birth or on coed teams. There was one abstention and one absence.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, the Legislature introduced the bill two weeks ago. It was also reported in LILP that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman introduced an executive order back in February banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports in which the events take place on county property. He said it was the first-of-its-kind legislation. However, the executive order was met with pushback, as Attorney General Letitia James filed a cease-and-desist letter, calling Blakeman’s order illegal; Blakeman sued James, but the court dismissed the county executive’s lawsuit.
Based on various news reports, the Nassau County Supreme Court struck down the executive order saying the ban would need legislative approval (Blakeman said he plans to appeal) and the New York Civil Liberties Union, representing the Roller Rebels women’s roller derby team — which has transgender individuals on its team — sued the county, claiming it violated the state’s Human Rights Law. Blakeman told those at the press conference that he “thought the executive order was proper.”
Amidst the Legislature’s approval of the ban, many people were outraged as protesters shouted “Shame!” repetitively at the legislators and supporters of the proposed law. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their emotions concerning the bill.
“This is a hateful and blatantly illegal bill. If signed into law, we’ll see Nassau in court – again.” NYCLU posted.
Nassau County Legislature Deputy Minority Leader Arnold W. Drucker (D-Plainview) noted that members of the transgender community are a protected class under New York State Law, which was amended is 2019 to explicitly add gender identity or expression as a protected class. “This legislation is a clear contravention of the stated law, and it’s beyond me why this County Executive wants to continue squandering hard-earned taxpayer dollars on legal fees defending this proposed law,” he said in a statement.
Blakeman noted transgender females have competitive advantages and the purpose of the bill is to create a level playing field for women in sports.
“It’s not anti-anything. It’s pro-women,” said Blakeman. “It’s just common sense. Biological males shouldn’t be competing against biological females. We know they’re bigger, stronger and faster.”
LILP reached out to Blakeman’s office for further comment, but did hear back as of press time.