Photo Credit: Governor Tom Wolf / wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // Two Pennsylvania school districts and several concerned individuals have launched a lawsuit against Gov. Josh Shapiro and a state agency, challenging the state’s inclusion of “gender identity and expression” in its 2023 legal redefinition of “sex.”
Thomas More Society (TMS), on behalf of South Side Area School District, Knoch School District, and several parents and taxpayers, filed the lawsuit March 6 against the governor’s office and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC).
The PHRC, which enforces anti-discrimination state laws, announced the redefinition in June 2023, according to the Penn Capital Star.
According to a March 10 TMS press release, the plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that the state officials overstepped their constitutional authority through this redefinition, and that the redefinition is a violation of the state constitution’s protection of equal rights.
TMS Special Counsel Thomas King said that the redefinition “undermines our state constitution, parental rights, and the fair and equal treatment of every Pennsylvanian — male or female.”
“This regulatory redefinition of reality is a blatant example of government bureaucrats overstepping their authority to push gender ideology,” King said in the release. “The Human Relations Commission wasn’t elected by anybody and nor were they ever authorized by the legislature to do this.”
TMS states in the release that the PHRC’s redefinition replaces biological truth with subjective opinion and undermines norms foundational to family life, education, and public policy. The redefinition also threatens school policies related to bathrooms and sports, the lawsuit argues. According to the suit filed in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the plaintiffs are requesting that the court declare that the redefinition is unconstitutional and therefore void.
“We are proud to stand with these brave school districts and families to demand accountability,” King said in the release, “and restore the rule of law.”
