The hot-button issue of transgender athletes participating in women’s sports is coming to a head in state legislatures across the country.
Nationwide, there are more than 50 bills in about 30 state governments that would prevent transgender athletes from participating in sports using their preferred gender instead of their biological sex, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
NEARLY THREE-FOURTHS OF REPUBLICANS SUPPORT TRANSGENDER SPORTS BAN: POLL
Conservatives argue that allowing transgender women to play against biological women would present them with an unfair advantage that would hurt biological women, while Democrats argue that such a policy would isolate and discriminate against people who are trying to embrace their gender identity.
Liberals also note that the instances of transgender women outperforming biological women are not common.
The states that have passed bans are Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, and Tennessee, though dozens of bills are being considered in other states across the country. South Dakota‘s Legislature passed a similar bill, but Republican Gov. Kristi Noem vetoed it asking for specific changes, though they declined.
The other state legislatures considering bills that would prevent transgender athletes from playing with and against biological women: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia, per the ACLU.
President Joe Biden made his position on the issue known on his first day in office, when he signed an executive order focused on “preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation,” which stated, “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”
House Democrats, along with three Republican defectors, followed Biden’s proclamation by passing the Equality Act on Feb. 25, which would include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” as classes protected under the Civil Rights Act. The bill, passed 224-206, would expand on last year’s Supreme Court ruling that the Civil Rights Act bans employment discrimination based on sexual or gender identity.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised to put the legislation up for a vote in his chamber but didn’t say when. A similar bill passed in the House in the last Congress, but the Republican-controlled Senate never brought it up for a vote.
Another aspect in the debate on transgender rights is access to healthcare.
The Biden administration restored federal protections for gay and transgender people on May 10, giving them the right to sue for sex discrimination in healthcare. It is a reversal from the Trump administration’s policy, which defined “sex” as the gender assigned at birth, thus excluding transgender people from the protections the law provides.
Health and Human Services announced that the Office for Civil Rights will interpret and enforce Section 1557 and Title IX’s protections against discrimination based on sex to include it on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The update was made to reflect the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County and subsequent court decisions.
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Republicans often argue that some care, such as transitioning from one gender to the other or puberty blockers, should not be permitted until a person is an adult, citing the potentially lifelong changes.
Twenty states are considering bills that would prevent gender-affirming care, according to the ACLU.
