Attorneys general from 24 states are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling and uphold an Arizona law to prohibit biological boys from competing on girls' sports teams.
The petition comes after a federal appeals court ruled that the law likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
"Sports teams are divided by sex to begin with to give girls a level playing field so they’re not competing against boys," South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release. "Arizona’s law restricting girls’ sports teams to biological females is just common sense, and it protects girls from competing against bigger, stronger males who identify as females."
In addition to Wilson, the attorneys general supporting the petition are those from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
The petition notes that these states have laws similar to Arizona's that restrict girls' sports to biological females.
It also argues that the Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit states from offering separate sports teams for men, women, boys and girls.
"In sports, equal access means a level playing field," the attorneys general write in their brief. "And a level playing field usually means sports teams divided by sex so that girls can compete against other girls."
"Basing the distinction on biology rather than gender identity makes sense because it is the differences in biology—not gender identity—that call for separate teams in the first place: Whatever their gender identity, biological males are, on average, stronger and faster than biological females. If those average physical differences did not matter, there would be no need to segregate sports teams at all," they continued.
The attorneys general are asking the high court to "make it clear that the Constitution does not prohibit states from saving women’s sports from unfair competition and providing meaningful athletic opportunities for girls and women," according to Wilson’s news release.
Delaware set off a firestorm this month after it elected the first transgender woman to Congress, leading some Republicans to demand the new lawmaker be barred from women’s bathrooms.
Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, currently a Democrat state senator for President Biden’s hometown of Claymont, Delaware, defeated retired Delaware State Trooper John Whalen III, 58%-42%. McBride succeeds Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, D-Del., who won the retiring Tom Carper’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., led the charge against allowing McBride from using the women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill. McBride is a biological male who identifies and presents as a woman. Mace said Tuesday she is now receiving death threats, adding that she is the one being "unfairly targeted."
Mace drafted resolution H.R. 1579 on Monday which would prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it had been referred to the House Administration Committee currently chaired by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., but did not appear to have come to a vote yet.
The bill would direct House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland to enforce the new provision.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told reporters she supports Mace’s resolution and called McBride "mentally ill."
"Sarah McBride, as he calls himself, formerly Tim McBride, is a biological man, and he should not be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol and those in our office buildings," Greene said.
"Nancy Mace's resolution doesn't go far enough. Her resolution is just a statement by Congress saying that Congress disagrees with something. We need something more binding."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., a noted social conservative, said he’s "not going to get into this."
"We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people. I believe it's a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, that we will. And I'm not going to engage in silly debates about this."
Johnson added that the issue of gender identity in locker rooms and bathrooms is not something Congress has had to address before and thus deserves honest deliberation and "member consensus."
"And we will accommodate the needs of every single person," the speaker added.
Greene said the situation reminds her of how student-athletes were forced to compete against biological males who are physiologically stronger as a baseline.
"There is a volleyball player that has brain damage today because of a biological male spiking a ball into her head."
In that regard, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to compete against a transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer, slammed McBride’s pointed response to criticisms.
"And even after his temper tantrum, he's still a man," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Gaines is an OutKick.com contributor and the host of the "Gaines for Girls" podcast.
In a 2015 story in American’s college magazine, McBride said, "My father said to me that he was not losing a son but gaining a daughter. That was one of the most profound moments in my transition. It was a major relief when it was clear that both my parents saw me as who I am."
In earlier comments about her resolution, Mace said she is a rape survivor and still has PTSD from her abuse at the hands of a man.
Later Tuesday, Mace said the issue is protecting women and girls and making sure Congress acts in accordance.
"[McBride] doesn't get a say. This is about real women and women's rights and the far-left radical left. They want to erase women and women's rights, and I'm not going to let them," she said.
"Here's the deal: Biological men shouldn't be in women's private spaces, period, end of story," she said.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., defended McBride on Tuesday, telling reporters he was "sick to his stomach" by Mace’s resolution.
In a statement, McBride called the situation "a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing."
"Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on."
Fox News Digital reached out to McBride's campaign and Dover office for additional comment on the new criticisms and was provided with an initial statement.
Fox News’ Daniel Scully, Tyler Olson and Ryan Schmelz contributed to this report.
