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Transgender women in the UK are facing new restrictions and outright bans from participating in women's sports to using bathrooms that match their gender identity
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LGBTQ plus advocacy groups now saying an April Supreme Court decision could lead to a blanket ban affecting trans people across the country
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The case focused on the Nation's Equality Act of 2010 on whether a trans woman with a gender
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recognition certificate, a legal document recognizing gender change, is protected as a
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woman under the Equality Act. The court said no, ruling unanimously that the law applies to
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biological sex only. The ruling means that even if a transgender person has legally changed their
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gender, they may not be treated as their identified gender under some parts of the Equality Act
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The Equality and Human Rights Commission says the decision clears up legal confusion and will make
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it easier to enforce protections for women and gay people, especially in maintaining single-sex
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spaces. The EHRC released guidelines following the decision, saying they are updating their
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policies but for now a trans woman is to be considered a biological male and a trans man is a biological woman With that being said the Equality Rights Watchdog Group said bathrooms designated for women
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cannot be used by trans women. The decision has also prompted changes from companies like
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Barclays Bank, which will now restrict access to women's bathrooms based on biological sex
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In a similar change, the Football Association announced it will ban trans women from women's
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football in England starting in June. The F.A. says although trans women were originally included
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they are no longer allowed on the football field. But LGBTQ plus advocacy groups
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including GLAAD and the Good Law Project, say the ruling is discriminatory. They argue it could
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lead to humiliation, restrictions and safety risks for trans people in day-to-day life
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The Good Law Project is now raising funds to launch a legal challenge, alleging the court
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fail to consider the human rights implications or hear from trans people directly affected
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The nonprofit legal organization says this is no small undertaking, but for the trans community
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in Britain, it is literally crucial. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey
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