US court ruled on Wednesday that Miss United States of America LLC, which runs the beauty pageant, cannot be forced to allow transgender individuals to compete because doing so would prevent it from expressing "the ideal picture of American womanhood."
In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed a case filed by transgender activist Anita Green. Green claimed that Miss USA's rule that only "natural born" women are eligible to compete in the pageant, this violates Oregon anti-discrimination legislation.
Transgender Women At Miss USA
Oregon native Green filed a lawsuit against Miss USA in Portland's federal court last year after her application to compete in the contest was turned down.
Applying the Oregon legislation, which forbids discrimination based on gender identification in public places, to Miss USA, according to the 9th Circuit, would be against the pageant's First Amendment right to free speech. The judge agreed with Miss USA that by selecting contestants, the pageant reflects its ideas on womanhood.
Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a pick of former Republican President Donald Trump, stated that it is "Common knowledge that beauty pageants are typically designed to portray the 'ideal picture of American womanhood'".
The previous Republican president George W. Bush's appointee, Circuit Judge Carlos Bea, joined VanDyke.
The verdict upheld a federal judge's dismissal of Green's case in 2021.
Judge Susan Graber of the 9th Circuit disagreed, arguing that the court should have addressed the constitutional questions before determining whether the Oregon legislation applied to Miss USA at all. Democrat and former president Bill Clinton chose Graber for the 9th Circuit.
Requests for comment from Miss USA and Green's attorney did not immediately elicit a response.
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