House Republicans passed a bill on April 20th that would prohibit federally supported schools and colleges from allowing transgender athletes who were assigned male at birth to compete on women’s sports teams. The bill was approved by a 219-203 party-line vote but is unlikely to progress further, as the Democratic-led Senate will not support it, and the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it. Similar restrictions have been imposed by at least 20 other American states, including North Carolina, on transgender athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level.
Supporters of the bill argued that it was necessary to ensure competitive fairness for female athletes who were disadvantaged by having to compete against those whose gender identity did not match their sex assigned at birth. Meanwhile, opponents criticised the bill for ostracising an already vulnerable group for political gain.
The bill would amend the landmark civil rights legislation known as Title IX, passed over 50 years ago, and would prohibit the recipients of federal money from permitting a person ‘whose sex is male’ to participate in programs designated for girls or women.
Greg Steube, the bill’s sponsor, highlighted the case of Emma Weyant, a resident of his district who was a member of the 2020 US Olympic Swimming team. Weyant was defeated by Lia Thomas, who earlier competed on the University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team before joining the women’s team. Steube said the integrity of women’s sports must be protected.
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed the bill, calling it a great day for America, girls, women, and fairness in sports. Democrats criticised the bill, saying it did nothing to address the severe inequities in resources dedicated to men’s and women’s sports. Democrat Pramila Jayapal, who has a transgender daughter, accused Republicans of cruelly scapegoating transgender children to score political points. She added that many transgender students had experienced harassment or discrimination at school and had considered suicide.
Another Democrat, Mark Pocan, pointed out that most people in the US don’t know anyone who is transgender, which creates fear for politicians to exploit. Pocan mentioned the stance of Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox, who vetoed a bill last year banning transgender students from playing girls’ sports, saying, ‘When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy, and compassion.’ Pocan further highlighted that at the time of the veto in Utah, there were only four transgender players out of 85,000 competing in high school sports, with only one competing in girls’ sports.
Pocan criticized the Republicans’ response to this non-existent issue, saying, ‘There’s your raging national problem. What’s the Republicans’ response to this nonexistent issue? Hurt kids for being kids.’
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