Federal court says beauty pageant can bar trans contestants
By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal appellate court says a national beauty pageant has a First Amendment right to exclude a transgender woman from competing, because including her could interfere with the message the pageant wants to send about what characteristics make an ideal woman. Wednesday’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Anita Green, who said the Miss United States of America pageant violated an Oregon state anti-discrimination law when it barred her from competing in 2019. Green is transgender and has competed in several pageants including Miss Montana USA and Miss Universe.