st. Paul – Minnesota House on Monday fell below one vote other than passing a bill banning transgender girls from women’s K-12 sports.
After almost two hours of discussion, 66 DFL members and 67 Republicans voted 66-67 along the HF12 party line, also known as the “Saving Girls Sports Act.” 68 votes are required.
“We’ve been accused of ignoring the emotions of trans athletes, but what about the emotions of many girls who have lost podiums and awards, medals and scholarships to biological male athletes?” R Andover, author of bill lawmaker Peggy Scott, said on the floor on Monday. “Do we ignore women’s emotions and actual science and safety for a small portion of biological men?”
The bill “creates a reproductive system to generate, transport and utilize eggs at some point, although women “naturally have, have, have, have, have, but due to congenital abnormalities or intentional or intentional confusion.”
If HF12 dies from Congress and is signed into law, the Minnesota High School League requires all K-12 Girls Sports to adopt these restrictions.
“House File 12 is Minnesota’s law on women’s sports for equity, safety and preservation,” R-Ramsey leader Rep. Harry Niska said on the floor. “This ensures that the protections and opportunities created by Title IX are maintained for the next generation of Minnesota female athletes.”
Minneapolis DFL leader Jamie Long said on the floor it’s difficult to think of a “billion more ugly than what’s ahead of us today.”
“The GOP can choose the bills that bring before us today, and instead of talking about the real issues Minnesotan is actually struggling with, GOP is using time on the floor to develop bills that bully young people, like the costs of grocery housing and childcare,” Long said.
Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-ST. Paul, the first and only transgender member of the Minnesota Legislature, reflects Long’s point about targeting children.
“I don’t think there’s a movement in world history that has been favored by history. I look at the kids and decide there are characteristics about them that you may not like, and cut them out and exclude them,” Finke said.
Mary Murphy / Forum News Service
“We’ve heard a lot about our thoughts and feelings, but we’ve never heard anything about the specific girls’ sports clubs or teams that have been shut down to trans participation,” said DFL-Rochestor Rep. Andy Smith. “And in fact, as many speakers have already pointed out, the trans community is a very small member of our population.”
Other Democrats alongside Smith during floor discussions pointed out how the bill targets a portion of the state’s population. A 2019 Minnesota Student Survey from the Department of Education found that 2.8% of ninth grade students reported uncertainty about transgender, gender, genderfluid, or gender identity.
Smith also called on caution before a US Senate committee in December to testify from NCAA President Charlie Baker, who said he believes there are fewer than 10 trans athletes across the NCAA in all 50 states.
However, Scott, the author of the bill, argued that the girls in the state were affected by the issue.
“Member, we heard at a committee of brave young girls who have come to testify about the injury…” she said. “Don’t say it’s not happening.”
Rep. Peggy Bennett of R-Albert Lea said he remembered being in ninth grade when Title 9 was passed and was able to play on the school’s first basketball team.
Mary Murphy / Forum News Service
“My generation of girls and women and pre-generational generations fought hard to see Title Nine play our own women’s sports,” Bennett said on the floor. “I want to see what I fought for, I’m being maintained…and now I’m grateful to the generations, because our bodies are different from male bodies and we need our own sports.
According to a report by ESPN and Kat Rohn, executive directors of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Outfront Minnesota, if the bill is passed, Minnesota will become the 23rd state to obtain some form of restrictions for trans athletes in sports.
The bill is not the only discussion of trans rights on the Minnesota Capitol this year. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed two cases. One bans transgender women from women’s sports against Donald Trump’s executive order, and the other opposes an enforcement order to maintain gender.
Lawmakers also introduced SF1651. It aims to legally categorize women and men based strictly on women and men, as well as HF435, a bill banning transgender women from Shecopee’s Minnesota correctional facilities.
Mary Murphy / Forum News Service
Before Monday’s floor vote, Republicans featured athletes at Capitol Mall at 11am, defending Riley Gaines at Providence High School and defending “Roundtable Discussion.”
“These bills I support are not about discrimination. They are the exact opposite. Sen. Carla Nelson, Sen. R-Rochester, author of the Senate bill, said: “This is not anti-trans.”
Meanwhile, Democrats held a press conference at noon, hosting a “let kids play” rally outside the floor chamber, with the queer lawmakers’ caucus before voting on the floor.
“The house floor is intended for a vetted bill with sufficient support to pass,” co-chairs of Brion Curran, DFL-White Bear Lake and queer councillor Coucus said at a press conference. “Minnesota is better than leadership that wastes time on a respectable crusade, while bipartisan bills have been piled up and real issues have not been resolved.”
House and Senate bills require a majority vote of the entire cell population to pass the bill. The house has a total of 134 seats, and even if there are currently vacant seats in the home district 40B, the Chamber of Commerce bill must pass 68 votes. The Senate bill requires 34 votes (most of the 67-person meeting rooms) to pass.
This story was updated on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025 at 10:27am.
