Save Women’s Sports (Little v. Hecox & West Virginia v. B.P.J.)

In 2022, the Kentucky General Assembly passed SB 83, sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, which prohibited males from playing in women’s and girls’ sports. In the House, The Family Foundation worked with Rep. Ryan Dotson to ensure the General Assembly passed a strong bill covering all female athletes, including those competing at the college level. It was during this debate that University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines’s story caught national attention. She made one of her first public appearances in support of Save Women’s Sports Laws when the General Assembly overrode Gov. Beshear’s veto of SB 83. As of today, more than half of the states have passed similar laws.

In response, LGBTQ advocates filed lawsuits against Save Women’s Sports Laws in Idaho and West Virginia, arguing that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title IX require states to allow males to play girls’ sports. In both cases, the lower courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, blocking the laws from going into effect. The Family Foundation and over 200 female state legislators, including 13 from Kentucky, joined an amicus brief successfully urging the Court to rule in favor of Save Women’s Sports Laws. Our executive director, David Walls, was at the U.S. Supreme Court for the oral arguments that took place earlier this year.

In a huge victory on June 30, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that neither the Fourteenth Amendment nor Title IX prohibits states from keeping males out of girls’ sports, ensuring that Save Women’s Sports Laws like Kentucky’s SB 83 remain in full effect. We praise God for this monumental victory for truth, the rule of law, and sanity, which will protect the dignity of female athletes from the injustices of radical transgender ideology!

Protecting Christian Counselors’ Right To Help Children (Chiles v. Salazar)

Colorado passed a law criminalizing counselors for integrating Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality into their practices. At the same time, the law expressly allowed pro-LGBTQ counselors to push kids toward undergoing a “gender transition.” In a second major victory, the Court ruled 8-1 that such laws violate the First Amendment’s protection of free speech and are thus invalid. Last year, the Kentucky General Assembly passed HB 495, championed by The Family Foundation, to overturn an executive order from Gov. Beshear that sought to put similar constraints on counselors in Kentucky.