A week after Congressional Republicans reintroduced a bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports that receive federal funding, the House passed the bill on Tuesday.
The bill passed 218-206.
“House Republicans are standing up for women once again,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said after the vote. “This is a promise we made because of what is right and what is common sense. We know from the Bible and from nature that men are men and women are women and men are women. I know it can’t be done. I’m sorry to have to say that. It’s a question of biology.”
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sport Act states that “gender shall be recognized solely on the basis of a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
The bill, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube, Republican of Florida, would “determine compliance with Title IX,” the landmark 1972 civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education and school sports. ‘ using the new definition.
The law prohibits recipients of federal funds from operating, sponsoring, or promoting sports programs that allow transgender female athletes to participate in women’s sporting events.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said House Democrats believe in fairness in sports, but are concerned that the bill does not distinguish between the age and level of competition of athletes. He said there was. He said it could lead to “individual testing” of “children as young as four years old”, adding: “There is nothing in the bill about parental consent for testing.”
Speaking before Tuesday’s vote, Aguilar called it the “Republican Child Predator Empowerment Act.”
Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said in a statement after the vote: But this kind of blanket ban deprives children of those things. ”
He said the bill would expose young people to harassment and discrimination and encourage people to question the gender of children who don’t fit traditional norms of appearance and dress.
Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville introduced a similar bill in the Senate last week. Later, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) said he had taken the necessary steps to place it on the Senate calendar.
