A yearslong case surrounding a transgender female powerlifter reached the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday where opening arguments were heard.

JayCee Cooper, sued USA Powerlifting in 2021 after being rejected from the women's team three years earlier. In the complaint, Cooper alleged the organization violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against people "having or being perceived as having a self-image or identity not traditionally associated with one's biological maleness or femaleness."

A district court ruled last year that the organization discriminated against Cooper, which spurred a mandate that the federation "cease and desist from all unfair discriminatory practices" because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

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The federation appealed the decision; Cooper then cross-appealed, and on Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals decided the athletic league did not discriminate against the individual.

On Tuesday, the court asked Ansis Viksnins, USA Powerlifting's attorney, why banning Cooper from women's competition was not "discriminatory." 

Viksnins responded it was not "based on gender identity."

The court asked if the policy would be equal had it been based on race or religion, comparing Cooper's case to a hypothetical in which Catholics were to be better bowlers — but the comparison was shut down.

"There is no legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason why there could be separation based on religion or national origin or race, whereas there is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for separating and treating transgender or women differently," Viksnins said.

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"The motive here was to separate biological males into a category where they are competing against other people who were born biologically male, that if I could point out my client separate competitors three ways by age, weight and sex. They do not care about gender identity. They don't care about sexual orientation."

The federation opened an "open" category in 2021 "to serve all gender identities," according to FOX 9 in Minnesota.

"Our goal at USAPL is to create rules and a framework that uphold the principles of fair play, not to exclude anyone," said Larry Maile, President of USAPL in a statement to the outlet. "Since science shows those who were born biologically male have a profound physical advantage over female-born athletes, our responsibility is to define legitimate categories to fairly place athletes within them."

A state court cited "increased risk of depression and suicide, lack of access to coaching and practice facilities, or other performance suppression common to transgender persons" as competitive disadvantages for transgender competitors, helping Cooper initially win the discrimination case.

According to Open Powerlifting, Cooper last competed at the 2022 AMP Classic Open Nationals in Texas and finished in third place out of three competitors in the division.

Cooper twice competed against a lone competitor — Rebecca Richnofsky — in the women's raw 198+ open category in 2019, winning both times. 

In the 2019 USPA National Championships, Cooper finished in fourth out of four competitors in that category.

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

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A Canadian town is facing a fine of $10,000 for refusing to participate in Pride Month and fly the "LGBTQ2 rainbow flag" outside its municipal building.

The town of Emo, Ontario, which has a population of about 1,300 and is situated near the border with Minnesota, was found to have violated the Ontario Human Rights Code by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for refusing to proclaim June as Pride Month, according to a report from the National Post.

The town was also issued a citation for its failure to fly "an LGBTQ2 rainbow flag," the report notes, despite Emo not having an official flag pole.

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In addition to the $10,000 fine, officials from the town were ordered to complete mandatory "human rights" training.

According to the report, the decision to cite Emo began with a 2020 incident in which the town was approached by a group called Borderland Pride, which issued a written request asking that Emo declare June Pride Month.

The group’s request also included a draft proclamation, containing clauses such as "pride is necessary to show community support and belonging for LGBTQ2 individuals" and "the diversity of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression represents a positive contribution to society."

Borderland Pride also asked the city to fly an "LGBTQ2 rainbow flag for a week of your choosing."

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The request was defeated by a 3-2 vote at a later Emo township council meeting, where Mayor Harold McQuaker argued there was "no flag being flown for the other side of the coin… there’s no flags being flown for the straight people."

The line was seen as particularly offensive to Human Rights Tribunal vice-chair Karen Dawson, who said she found the remark "demeaning and disparaging of the LGBTQ2 community of which Borderland Pride is a member and therefore constituted discrimination under the Code."

Dawson further argued that the remark was made in "close proximity" to  McQuaker’s no vote on the Borderland Pride request, meaning it "constituted discrimination under the Code."

Borderland Pride sought a $15,000 fine for the Township as well as a $10,000 fine for each of the three council members who voted no on the group’s request, according to the report, though the tribunal eventually settled on the $10,000 fine for the township and a $5,000 for McQuaker.

McQuaker and Emo’s chief administrative officer were also ordered to complete an online course offered by the Ontario Human Rights Commission called "Human Rights 101" and "provide proof of completion… to Borderland Pride within 30 days."

A Midwestern state party chair is off to a fast start in his bid to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC). 

"I am running to serve as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee," Ken Martin, head of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, announced Tuesday in a social media post.

Martin becomes the second candidate to launch a bid to succeed current DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is not expected to seek a second four-year term early next year in the wake of this month's major election setbacks for the Democrats up and down the ballot.

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Former two-term Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who for the past year has served as Social Security administration commissioner in President Biden's administration, announced his candidacy on Monday.

Martin, who has led the Minnesota Democrats for a dozen years, serves as a DNC vice chair and is also the leader of the association of state Democratic Party chairs.

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"When I took over @MinnesotaDFL, we were in debt and disarray. But we brought people together, built a winning coalition, and delivered results. I’m ready to get to work to rebuild our party," Martin said in his social media post.

In an accompanying video, Martin emphasized, "if you're looking for a creature of D.C., that's not me. But I do know how the DNC works and how it isn't working."

He stressed that Democrats "need to reconnect our ideas — which we know are popular in red, blue and purple states across this country — back to our party and to our candidates."

Martin said he started his bid for DNC chair with the backing of over 80 DNC members. The next DNC chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee.

O'Malley, in launching his bid, highlighted that "we must connect our Party with the most important place in America — the kitchen table of every family’s home. Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security for all. Getting things done. Hope. A 50 state strategy. Now," O’Malley emphasized in a social media post.

While O'Malley and Martin are the first two candidates to launch bids, others are expected to follow, as the Democrats try to rebound after losing the White House and Senate in the 2024 elections and failing to recapture the House of Representatives.

Another potential contender is Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.