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(Trends Wide) — The United States House of Representatives voted Thursday in favor of a bill led by the Republican Party that would ban transgender athletes from playing women’s and girls’ sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is not expected to accept the bill, and the White House has threatened to veto it. But the vote shows that Republicans are working to bring the issue to the fore, and it comes amid a GOP-led push in states across the country to pass similar bills restricting the participation of transgender athletes in sports. sports. The final vote was 219-203, with a clearly partisan result.
The House bill would bar transgender women and girls from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. It seeks to amend federal law to require that “sex be recognized solely based on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” for purposes of determining Title IX compliance in athletics, according to the legislative text.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities that receive funding from the Federal Government, and it applies to schools and other educational institutions.
The bill would not “prohibit schools or institutions from allowing boys to practice against women’s sports teams,” according to a fact sheet from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The fact sheet also states that, under the bill, “a recipient of federal education funds violates Title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination if the recipient operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities and allows a person of male participates in a sports program or activity designated for women or girls”.
The bill, titled the “Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act,” was introduced by Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida.
Republicans have argued that transgender women have a physical advantage over cisgender women in sports and therefore their participation could limit the opportunities for others.
The bill, titled the “Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act,” was introduced by Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida.
Republicans have argued that transgender women have a physical advantage over cisgender women in sports and therefore their participation could limit the opportunities for others.
Democrats say that policies to restrict the participation of transgender athletes in team sports add to the discrimination suffered by trans people, especially trans youth. And they argue that Republicans intend to undermine the rights of LGBTQIA students by pushing the bill.
“Trans kids deserve the right to be equal members of their school communities, learn sportsmanship and challenge themselves outside of the classroom, including through participation in school sports,” Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, said in a statement.
The House vote comes as GOP-led states across the country continue to push a series of anti-trans measures, including bills aimed at barring transgender students from playing on transgender sports teams. with their gender identity.
These bills echo a broader effort of restrictive bills targeting the LGBTQIA community. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it is monitoring more than 450 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States.
The White House said President Joe Biden would veto the bill, though it is not expected to reach the presidential table.
“Discrimination has no place in our country’s schools or on our playing fields,” reads the government’s policy statement on the bill.
“At a time when transgender youth are already facing a nationwide mental health crisis, with half of transgender youth in a recent survey saying they have seriously considered suicide, a national law that further stigmatizes them. it’s completely unnecessary, it hurts families and students, and it would only put students at greater risk,” he says.
In response to the White House Twitter veto threat, Steube said that the Biden government “has turned its back on athletes.”
“The left is not just encouraging transgender people to invade women’s sport, they are celebrating it as women are pushed off the podiums and relegated to the benches. There is nothing fair about that,” Steube wrote.
In addition to promising the veto, the Biden administration has taken other steps to address the participation of transgender athletes in sports.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration proposed a new federal rule change that would allow schools to apply some restrictions to transgender student athletes, but opposes policies that “categorically” prohibit such students from participating in teams. sports according to their gender.
Trends Wide’s Devan Cole contributed to this article.
