Gov. Chris Sununu sided with parents involved in recent protests and a lawsuit in Bow, citing First Amendment rights, three months after he signed a bill prohibiting transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports.

Last month, Bow High School issued no-trespass orders against parents who showed up to a soccer game where a trans athlete was playing and wore armbands marked with “XX” – a reference to the sex chromosomes typically associated with biological females. The parents then filed a lawsuit alleging that the school district violated their First Amendment rights to do so.

The matter is currently tied up in court.

“I think Bow High School banning those parents for having an opinion on something has clearly created a problem for Bow High School,” Sununu said. “First Amendment rights are very clear. People have the right to say certain things and protest.”

Two transgender girls also sued New Hampshire’s education commissioner, Frank Edelblut, and the Plymouth and Pembroke school districts when the law, HB 1205, went into effect. A judge has blocked the law’s enforcement, saying it likely violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment – essentially, it’s unenforceable without classifying people by sex or gender, the judge ruled.

Sununu didn’t reflect on how the law, HB 1205, has been implemented so far but said the fallout was expected. 

“We always knew that there would be a lawsuit to it,” Sununu said. “The courts will have to deal with it.”