DeSantis Administration loses another court case to transgender community (and there may be damages awarded this time)

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis lost another court case to trans community.

Just like his sad presidential campaign did, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis's "war on woke" continues to crumble. And he deserves every bit of the public humiliation.

From The Advocate (on Friday of last week):

A federal judge ruled Florida’s transgender health care ban violates state employees’ rights. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in a court order wrote Florida has wronged public workers for decades by only carrying insurance plans that exclude gender affirmation care. He said the refusal to provide appropriate health care violated transgender plaintiff’s rights as defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. “The undisputed facts demonstrate that the challenged exclusions apply only to transgender members, as only transgender individuals would seek the gender-affirming treatment that is excluded from coverage,” Walker ruled.

The Advocate also pointed out that this is the second time the DeSantis Administration lost in court with regards to its attempt ban gender-affirming healthcare:

In recent years, Florida has stepped up efforts to limit access to transgender health care for adults and children, but frequently run into skepticism in the courts. Another federal judge in the state in June blocked the state from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrictions on the care for trans adults.

But this case dates back to 2020. It was brought by three transgender women, including Jami Claire, a University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine worker, Kathryn Lane, an appellate public defender, and Ahmir Murphy, a Florida Department of Corrections Sergeant. The state denied each plaintiff coverage of gender affirmation surgery.

LGBTQ Nation added:

“We are so grateful that the court is holding the state accountable for its facially discriminatory policy that carves out transgender state employees for unequal treatment,” said Simone Chriss, director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel, in a statement. 

“As the court made clear, ‘Title VII prohibits all forms of discrimination because of sex, however they manifest themselves,’ and we are thrilled that this antiquated relic of state-sanctioned discrimination has been left in the past where it belongs.”

 This court will be holding a separate trial to determine the amount of damages that will be awarded to plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were represented by the Florida chapter of the ACLU, Southern Legal Counsel, and Legal Services of Greater Miami.