|
The
San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1
decision rejected a lawsuit by Anita Green, a transgender
activist, claiming that Miss United States of America's policy
of only allowing "natural born" women to compete violates an
Oregon anti-discrimination law.
Green, who is from Oregon, sued the company in federal court in
Portland last year after her application to participate in the
pageant was rejected. Miss United States of America does
business as United States of America Pageants.
The 9th Circuit said applying the Oregon law, which prohibits
discrimination based on gender identity in public
accommodations, to Miss United States of America would violate
the pageant's free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.
The court agreed with the company that it expresses its views on
womanhood by determining who can compete.
"It is commonly understood that beauty pageants are generally
designed to express the 'ideal vision of American womanhood,'"
wrote Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, an appointee of former
Republican President Donald Trump.
VanDyke was joined by Circuit Judge Carlos Bea, an appointee of
former Republican President George W. Bush.
The ruling affirmed a 2021 decision by a federal judge
dismissing Green's lawsuit.
Miss United States of America and a lawyer for Green did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a dissenting opinion, 9th Circuit Judge Susan Graber said the
court should have first decided whether the Oregon law applies
to the company at all before weighing the constitutional issues.
Graber was appointed to the 9th Circuit by former President Bill
Clinton, a Democrat.
(This story has been corrected to fix name of pageant. A
previous version of this article incorrectly identified Miss
United States of America as Miss USA. Miss USA is a separate
pageant operated by a different company.)
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by
Alexia Garamfalvi and Mark Porter)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
