Topline
The House passed legislation Thursday that would ban transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports—a bill that is ultimately doomed in the Democratic-controlled Senate but furthers GOP attacks on transgender rights and gender-affirming care.
US Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty … [+]
Key Facts
The House voted 219-203, along party lines, to ban transgender individuals from competing in K-12 female sports.
The “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023” declares that a person’s sex is “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
The legislation would add language to Title IX—which prohibits sex-based discrimination in school programs that receive federal funding—- to prohibit people “whose sex is male” from participating in women’s sports.
The legislation is likely to pass the GOP-controlled House, but faces no chance of becoming law under the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden, who has said he would veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.
Key Background
GOP lawmakers have targeted transgender people via a string of state legislation that bans transgender women from competing in men’s sports, places restrictions on gender-affirming health care and prevents transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity. Last month, the House passed legislation that would require elementary schools to obtain parental consent if a child wants to change their gender accommodations. That bill is also expected to stall in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but serves as another vehicle for Republicans to attack “woke” school policies.
Contra
The Biden Administration proposed a rule change to Title IX earlier this month to counter the Republican attacks on transgender athletes. The rule would add language to the 1972 civil rights law to prevent schools from banning transgender athletes, with some exceptions for elite sports.
Chief Critic
Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said Wednesday the bill “makes school sports less fair by singling out and banning transgender women and girls as young as kindergarten from participating on school sports teams,” calling it “both wrong and dangerous” to target transgender students who “already face widespread bullying and discrimination.”
Crucial Quote
“Parents do not want biological men in locker rooms with their daughters, nor do they believe it’s equitable a male can compete with women in female athletics,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), said in a floor speech on Wednesday.
Further Reading
House Passes Bill That Makes Schoolkids Get Permission Before Changing Gender ID (Forbes)
Here Are All The States Banning Or Restricting Trans Or Gender-Affirming Care (Forbes)
White House Backs New Rule Blocking Trans Athlete Bans—With A Major Exception (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/04/20/house-could-ban-transgender-athletes-from-female-school-sports/