Well, I definitely didn't see this one coming, but I think we can absolutely chalk this up as a major victory:
Via CNN [with editorial corrections]:
A [man] who was challenging Idaho's ban on trans athletes told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that [he] is withdrawing [his] high-profile case, citing intense "negative public scrutiny" because of the litigation and a desire to focus on "academic and personal goals."
Lindsay Hecox, a 24-year-old senior at Boise State University told the high court that [he] is dismissing [his] case - and, in an unusual move, [he] asked the justices to throw out a ruling from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that was decided in [his] favor.
A transgender litigant voluntarily backing out of a landmark Supreme Court ruling and asking the court to rule in favor of reality??
In this case, Hecox, with representation from the ACLU, was challenging Idaho's ban on men participating in women's sporting leagues. Two lower courts had ruled in his favor, with the state subsequently appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed earlier this year to hear the case.
The ACLU's decision to back out — and to request that the court knock back the earlier favorable rulings — unfortunately doesn't mean that we're out of the woods yet on this. As CNN notes, SCOTUS already "granted a second case, involving a transgender student from West Virginia, that raises the same issue."
Still: Hecox's unwillingness to challenge the matter at court suggests a number of encouraging things, chief among them that he knows he is very likely to lose — which is another way of saying that the tide is turning on transgender madness.
That's not just idle speculation, either. Kristen Waggoner, the president of Alliance Defending Freedom which has led the charge on rolling back so much of transgender insanity, said the request to withdraw was "a desperate, bad-faith move" meant to avoid a negative ruling from the high court:
[We] will urge the Supreme Court to thwart the ACLU's attempt to game the system, and to move forward with hearing the case. ...
The issue of men in women's sports is an ongoing, nationwide controversy. It deserves its day at America's highest court.
Some other thoughts from social media:
It's not just about losing at SCOTUS; it's the leverage it would set for future cases almost guaranteeing immediate dismissal
They know that they will lose.
The issue is clearly ripe for adjudication. Purely a defensive move by ACLU as it knows it will lose at SCOTUS.
They know they are going to lose so they're desperate to cause confusion & delay.
Pretty cowardly stuff from the ACLU. Expect to see a resounding defeat on this in the months ahead!
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