CNN —A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that West Virginia cannot enforce its anti-transgender sports ban against a 13-year-old girl, dealing a blow to one of nearly two dozen such laws enacted by GOP-led states in recent years. We hold it cannot,” Circuit Judge Toby Heytens wrote in the decision, which was joined by Judge Pamela Harris. Signed into law by West Virginia Republican Gov. The court’s majority said the law violates Pepper-Jackson’s rights under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at schools that receive federal aid. The federal judge who initially blocked the law in 2021 reversed course last year and sided with state officials.

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Persons: Becky Pepper, Jackson, Toby Heytens, Pamela Harris, Jim Justice, Pepper, “, ” Heytens, Steven Agee, Roy Rochlin, Agee, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Joshua Block, ” Block, Patrick Morrisey, ” Organizations: CNN, GOP, Appeals, ”, Republican, West Virginia Republican Gov, Lambda Legal, Conservative, American Civil Liberties Union, West Virginians, West Virginia Locations: Virginia, New York City, West Virginia