LGBT

California Sues DOJ Over ‘Transgender’ Athlete Ban

California is suing the Justice Department over its demand the state prohibit male athletes from competing in women’s and girls sports.

The lawsuit retaliates against letters sent to California school districts by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon last week, ordering them to certify the ban “in writing” because “knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause.”

“Defendants have no right to make such a demand,” the California lawsuit states. It continues:

Instead, allowing athletic participation consistent with students’ gender identity is substantially related to the important government interests of affording all students the benefits of an inclusive school environment, including participation in school sports, and preventing the serious harms that transgender students would suffer from a discriminatory, exclusionary policy.

Of course, the lawsuit makes no mention of the “serious harms” to women that result from males competing in their sports.

This heated pushback is occurring despite President Trump’s recent executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

This February order explains that males competing in women’s sports is “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

The order later states:

It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. 

It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta argues this presidential executive order violates California antidiscrimination laws, including California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) rules.

The CIF governs California public and private school sports. It contains a bylaw that forces “gender identity” recognition “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.”

However, Julie Hamill, principal attorney with California Justice Center, is adamant that the U.S. Constitution provides protection for biologically female athletes – rights that California is violating by “allowing males into ‘girls only’ categories.”

Permitting males to compete in women’s and girls sports also violates Title IX, a federal civil rights law enacted in 1972 which prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Hamill stated, “By continuing to fan flames of division and play politics, leftist politicians and media outlets are causing further harm to American girls.”

This was especially evident in May when female athletes were forced to share their podium with AB Hernandez, a male, at the California State Track and Field Championships. 

“Watching two girls share one of the biggest moments of their athletic careers with a male competitor was a painful reminder of how far we’ve strayed from truth and fairness,” said Sophia Lorey, outreach director at California Family Council.

“What I witnessed at the California State Track and Field Championships was not progress, it was the erasure of girls sports,” she continued.

Focus on the Family couldn’t agree more. California’s lawsuit seems intent upon harming countless young girls and their rights, while protecting men pretending to be women. This unfair policy not only strips female athletes of their hard-earned achievements but also violates their basic human rights as women.

Please pray California’s lawsuit is defeated in court.

Related Articles and Resources

Transgender Resources

What is “Gender Identity?”

Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion

Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

Department of Justice Launches Title IX Task Force to Protect Women’s Sports

Girls Shouldn’t Apologize for Protesting Boys in Girls Sports

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Female Athletes Challenge Minnesota Policy Forcing Them to Compete Against Males

Some Companies Back Away From LGBT Pride – Parents Should Still Be Watchful

Corporations are providing less support for LGBT pride month this year, leading some activist groups to scale down their celebrations of sexual sin and brokenness.

But parents should still be mindful; it’s very easy for families to stumble across LGBT parades, events and merchandise. Parents will want to plan ahead to protect their children as much as possible from exposure to sexually confusing, inappropriate subjects.

One study, from Gravity Research’s “Pride Pulse Poll,” surveyed leaders across Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies about their anticipated corporate involvement in pride month. The survey found:

  • Scaled-Back Visibility: 39% of companies plan to reduce Pride-related engagement in 2025. Notably, no respondents reported plans to increase engagement.
  • Quiet Internal Continuity: Despite pullbacks in external-facing efforts like event sponsorships and social media branding, internal initiatives – such as workplace activities or partnerships with employee resource groups – remain largely intact.
  • Backlash Planning in Progress: 65% of respondents say they are actively preparing for backlash, crafting reactive communication strategies and training HR teams to manage internal sentiment.

The Advocate, an LGBT activist magazine, noted one of the reasons for this reduced support was that companies were abandoning “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs. As this occurred, “Many also axed their commitments to LGBTQ+ Pride Month.”

The news outlet listed 14 corporations that “have stopped or scaled back sponsorship” of pride parades and activities, including Anheuser-Busch, Citi, Comcast, Garnier, Lowes, Mastercard, Nissan, PepsiCo, Target and Walmart.

Anheuser-Busch, for example, stopped sponsoring pride events in St. Louis, San Francisco and Columbus, while in New York City, “Hair care company Garnier was one of the four ‘Platinum’ donors that has withdrawn its support in 2025,” The Advocate reported.

Over at the conservative news and opinion outlet Red State, Senior Reporter Brandon Morse wrote:

“Major businesses that once plastered their logos with the Pride flag the moment June 1 rolled around have kept their logos virtue-signal-free.”

Morse listed Microsoft, IBM, Xbox, Target and Starbucks as companies no longer including LGBT symbols in their logos.

Despite this pullback by some companies, parents should be aware that pride events are still happening across the U.S. throughout June – and not only this month, as the LGBT calendar and events now stretch from January to December. In addition, many stores carry LGBT merchandise year-round.

It’s no longer a question of “if” children will encounter homosexuality and transgenderism in the culture – it’s “when” will they do so. So here are a few ideas, along with some resource suggestions, to help parents keep their children grounded in truth and protect them from sexually confusing ideology.

1. Teach your children God’s good design for humanity and marriage, before they encounter damaging and false ideas. In age appropriate ways, help children understand the basics: God created humans male and female; He designed marriage to be between a husband and wife; and a married mom and dad provide the best, safest place for raising children.

Simple conversations about these issues should take place earlier than you might think, as children can be exposed to these issues at very young ages. Remember, too, that this should be an ongoing conversation as they grow and mature.

2. Plan ahead as you travel and visit different cities. It’s easy to check online and avoid areas where LGBT parades and celebrations are taking place.

3. When your children encounter harmful teaching and images about sexuality, stay calm and cool, and discuss what happened. Listen to what they say, ask questions and assure them that they did nothing wrong – but the people who exposed them to these things were wrong to do so.

If you’re angry, acknowledge this to them, but offer assurance that you’re not upset with them, you love and care about them, but you are unhappy about what happened to them.

If they’ve seen destructive sexual behaviors or images, pray over them, asking God to cleanse their minds and protect them.

4. Make sure you’ve also taught your children about God’s plan for salvation. Talk with them about God’s good creation, how people disobeyed Him and sinned, and about His plan of salvation for all of us. Remind your kids that God loves everyone – even those who get caught in sinful behaviors – and He helps people get freedom from sin.

How you manage these subjects will depend upon their age, of course, but your children need to know it’s always safe to talk with you about difficult issues.

Focus on the Family and the Daily Citizen have resources to help parents (and grandparents and other concerned adults) understand LGBT issues and respond to questions from children in healthy, non-reactive ways. We also have resources for those navigating these issues with a family member or friend.

Related Articles and Resources

Counseling Consultations and Referrals

Five Things for Christians to Remember During ‘LGBT Pride Month’

Focus on the Family: Parenting

Focus on the Family Resources: Sex Education

How to Talk to Your Children About Homosexuality: A guide for parents

How to Teach Your Children About Marriage: Creative and practical ideas

Navigating ‘LGBT Pride Month’ – How Should Parents Respond?

Raising Children Who Honor Marriage: What you should know 

The Talk: Healthy Sexuality Education – Basic Goals and Guidance from Focus on the Family

Transgender Resources

Understanding Homosexuality

When Transgender Issues Enter Your World: How Christians can respond with compassion, courage and truth

Image from Shutterstock.

Nebraska Becomes 26th State to Protect Girls and Women’s Sports

Nebraska became the 26th state to protect girls and women’s K-12 and collegiate sports after Governor Jim Pillen signed “The Stand for Women Act” earlier this week.

The bill allows for all male, all female and coed teams in school sports.

Although many transgender and media activists call such legislation “transgender bans,” these commonsense laws don’t even mention transgenderism. They are grounded in science, defining male and female based on reproductive capacity, not spurious gender ideology.

Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Erica O’Connell commended the legislature and governor for “passing this critical bill,” adding:

Letting men intrude on women and girls sports teams is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the sexes.

Nebraska is right to ensure that female athletes of all ages have a fair and level playing field and protect the safety and dignity of women and girls.

Legislative Bill 89 originally included provisions restriction school restrooms and locker rooms based on sex, but those were removed to assure the bill’s passage.

The Nebraska Examiner reported that state Sen. Merv Riepe, who objected to sex-segregated facilities being mandated by the legislature, said, “I did not run for office to become part of the ‘Nebraska State Potty Patrol.’”

The act’s sponsor, Senator Katheen Kauth, said she’ll try again to protect the privacy, dignity and safety of all students by introducing a bill in 2026 that mandate’s separate facilities in schools. The Examiner quoted her saying, “The work is not done. We’re going to continue.”

LB 89 is based on the reality of innate differences between the two sexes, as the legislation explains:

Males and females possess unique and immutable differences that manifest prior to birth and increase as they age and experience puberty.

Differences between the sexes are enduring and may, in some circumstances, warrant the creation of separate social, educational, athletic, or other spaces in order to ensure safety and to allow members of each sex to succeed and thrive.

The act lists some of the physical advantages for males, noting they have “on average, a larger body size with more skeletal muscle mass, a lower percentage of body fat, and a greater maximal delivery of anaerobic and aerobic energy.”

Noting the “significant sports performance gap between the sexes,” LB 89 further states:  

Even at young ages, males typically score higher than females on cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and speed and agility. These differences become more pronounced during and after puberty as males produce higher levels of testosterone. On average, male athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and more physically powerful than their female counterparts.

The new law explains that these natural advantages are not erased when males suppress testosterone and take female hormones.

It’s unfair and even dangerous to allow males to compete in girls and women’s sports. We at the Daily Citizen are grateful that more and more states, as well as the federal government, are moving to protect their athletic achievements, along with their health, dignity and privacy.

Related Resources and Articles:

Don’t Let the Media Deceive You About Trump’s Order Protecting Female Athletes

Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

House Passes Bill Protecting Women and Girls in Sports

NYT Poll Finds Almost 80% of Americans Oppose Men in Women’s Sports

Payton McNabb, Injured Volleyball Player, Wins Title IX Victory

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Save Women’s Sports Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Image from Gov. Jim Pillan

‘Speak Out’ Rally Features Stories of Leaving Homosexuality and Transgenderism

Our allies at California Family Council (CFC) and the Changed Movement are hosting a symposium and rally, “Speak Out,” at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 11-12.

The informative symposium features experts who will explain how LGBT ideology has gained such power, enough that it threatens free speech and religious freedom, while the rally showcases testimonies from individuals who left homosexuality and transgenderism to follow Christ – something the world says is impossible.

This false belief is so entrenched that cities and states actively oppose the freedom to leave LGBT identities and behaviors – and the California State Legislator has taken the lead in opposing First Amendment rights for those who wrestle with these deep issues.

Elizabeth Woning, one of the founders of Changed, is one of those who chose to follow Christ. Elizabeth Woning “came out” in her early twenties and attended seminary as an open lesbian. She was an activist, lobbying within her denomination for same sex marriage and ordination of LGBT-identified individuals.

Woning shares her story of leaving lesbianism at the Changed website and in the book, Changed: #OnceGay Stories, along with dozens of others (including this writer) who left homosexuality or sexual identity confusion.

“Speak Out” commemorates the seventh anniversary of CFC and Changed speaking out against California Assembly Bill 2943, “an effort by the state to ban resources  those leaving homosexuality and transgenderism,” said CFC. Hundreds gathered at the Capitol to oppose the measure, including individuals testifying about their journey out of homosexuality.

CFC, which supports life, family, religious freedom and free speech, further explained:

In 2018, the LGBTQ legislative caucus sponsored AB 2943, a bill so sweeping it threatened churches, counselors, authors, and even bookstores with legal action for offering any service, product, or program that supported helping someone wanting help to change their unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, including help to change associated behaviors.

It was a direct assault on freedom of speech and religion, including the preaching of the gospel of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

The Changed Movement notes that our culture only gives one option for those wrestling with LGB or T issues – you must embrace this identity. The group lists these societal messages to strugglers:

  • If I have same sex attraction, there’s only one option for me.
  • I must be affirming of the LGBTQ lifestyle, but my desire to change is not tolerated.
  • If I don’t fit in with the other boys/girls, I must be trans.
  • I was told abuse and porn weren’t factors, but they were for me.

The organization states, “California should protect freedom of conscience for everyone,” adding:

Imagine if following your conscience or religion was restricted by the government simply because you have previously identified as LGBTQ. Today, freedoms have been taken away from many Christians who seek support and encouragement to follow their faith when it involves letting go of LGBTQ identities. 

Whether it’s restricting counseling from children who may have been sexually abused (like so many of us) or requiring schools to offer suicide helps that promote LGBTQ ideology, Californians who question their sexuality or gender are not truly free. In many states, like California, following your conscience comes with public pressure and intrusion of government policy when you question your sexual identity. 

Changed and CFC plan to meet with legislators in Sacramento to proclaim, “We exist!” and “California must remain free – for everyone – to follow their consciences.”

The organizations explain, “California legislators must step away from government-mandated sexuality and stop controlling people’s identities and personal beliefs.”

The “Speak Out” symposium, “California at Risk: The Truth About Gender Ideology,” begins on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento. Attendees can register here.

Prayer and the rally at the state Capitol’s West Steps in Sacramento begins at 8:00 a.m. The schedule for the event can be found here.

Focus on the Family encourages Californians to attend “Speak Out,” and all believers can pray for and support this growing movement.

Related Articles and Resources

Can Minors Receive Counseling Help for Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction or Sexual Identity Confusion? Federal Courts Split on Local Prohibitions.

Elizabeth Woning Left Lesbianism for a Relationship with Christ – She Wants Others to Have that Same Freedom

Freedom from Homosexuality – What’s the Controversy?

Is Therapy to Leave Homosexuality Damaging? New Review Says, ‘No Proof of Harm’

Just a Good Christian Boy

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case on Colorado’s Counseling Censorship Law

Transgender Resources

Understanding Homosexuality

Image from Changed Movement.

DOJ Targets Those Mutilating Children with ‘Transgender’ Drugs and Surgeries

The FBI is targeting medical professionals and institutions that mutilate children with experimental “transgender” interventions – drugs, hormones and surgeries – that leave children sterile, sick and permanently damaged.

The announcement came on Facebook and X:

The move by the FBI to protect children followed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s internal memorandum titled “Preventing the Mutilation of American Children“:

There is a radical ideological agenda being pushed throughout every aspect of American life – from TV programming and Hollywood film production to children’s books and elementary school classrooms – that teaches children to deny biological reality.

Gender ideology, masked as science, teaches that children should process adolescent stress and confusion as a case of mistaken identity and that the solution is not to root out and eliminate the underlying condition but to acquiesce in it permanently through life-altering chemical and surgical intervention.

Bondi rebuked the medical community, which should be rooted in evidence-based science and medicine, for not serving “as a bulwark against this sociological disease,” adding,

“Between 2019 and 2023, an estimated 14,000 children received “treatment” for gender dysphoria, with more than 5,700 subjected to life-altering surgeries.”

“The practitioners who provided this so-called ‘care’ profited while their patients were left permanently disfigured, scarred and sterilized.”

The memorandum spotlighted the influence of social media on detransitioner Chloe Cole, who was 11 years old when she “joined Instagram and was bombarded with ‘LGBT content and activism’”

As Daily Citizen previously reported, medical professionals chemically and surgically “transitioned” Cole when she was a young teenager, prescribing puberty blockers and testosterone when she was just 13 years old and performing a double mastectomy when she was only 15.

Cole has been a staunch opponent of what is erroneously labeled “gender-affirming care, testifying against these medical interventions before Congress and state legislatures.

She also filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, The Permanente Medical Group and three doctors that had improperly treated her with chemical and surgical interventions, leaving her with “deep physical and emotional wounds, severe regrets, and distrust of the medical system.”

Transgender medical procedures can have life-long consequences, such as those Cole described in her testimony before Congress, saying testosterone gave her “menopausal-like hot flashes,” deepened her voice and masculinized her appearance. She said her future fertility is “unknown.”

She went on to state, “I still struggle to this day with sexual dysfunction, and I have massive scars across my chest and skin grafts that they used, that they took from my nipples, are weeping fluid today, and they were grafted into a more masculine positioning, they said.”

All these procedures worsened her mental health and did not turn her into a male.

Bondi’s memorandum followed an executive order from President Trump “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” It states says the DOJ will investigate crimes “under the banner of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’” as female genital mutilation, a felony.

In addition, “The Department of Justice will investigate and hold accountable medical providers and pharmaceutical companies that mislead the public about the long-term side effects of chemical and surgical mutilations.”

The DOJ is also investigating violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for making false claims. The agency will work with state attorneys general to prosecute hospitals and practitioners of “gender medicine,” and promote legislation to protect children.

The memorandum ends with a statement on the urgency of protecting children from mutilation.

“Protecting America’s children must be our top priority, whether from drug cartels, terrorists or even our own medical community.”

“Every day, we hear more harrowing stories about children who will suffer for the rest of their lives because of the unconscionable ideology behind ‘gender-affirming care.'”

Daily Citizen is thankful for this effort from the DOJ and the FBI to safeguard children from dangerous, ineffective, traumatizing medical procedures.

Again, you can report tips of any hospitals, clinics or practitioners performing these surgical procedures on children at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

Related Articles and Resources:

Colorado Counselor Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Free Speech Case

Counseling for Sexual Identity Concerns: A Measured, Careful, and Compassionate Approach.

Expert in ‘Transitioning’ Children Admits ‘We Were Wrong’ About Puberty Blockers

Four Brave Young Women File Lawsuits Alleging Harm from ‘Transgender’ Interventions

HHS Releases Report on Harms of ‘Transgender’ Medical Interventions for Minors

Important New Journal Article Calls Out Doctors for Harming Youth with Medicalized Gender Ideology

New Video Equips Parents and Counselors to Help ‘Gender Dysphoric’ Children

President Trump Signs Order Protecting Children From Transgender Medical Interventions

Transgenderism and Minors: What Does the Research Really Show?

If you or someone you know need help dealing with the transgender issue, check out Focus on the Family’s Transgender Resources page.

Focus on the Family’s Counseling Department offers help from licensed counselors. To request a conversation with Focus on the Family’s Counseling Department, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time), or complete our Counseling Consultation Request Form. Please be prepared to leave your contact information for a counselor to return a call to you as soon as possible. The consultation is available at no cost to you due to generous donor support.

To learn more about defeating gender ideology, click here.

Image from Shutterstock.