Today the United States House of Representatives voted to pass HR28, legislation that restricts transgender students from participating in school athletics. The bill amends the Education Amendments of 1972 so that, for the purpose of athletics, Title IX’s definition of “sex” only refers to a student’s sex assigned at birth. The bill explicitly states that youth assigned male at birth will not be allowed to participate on school sports teams designated for women and girls.
If the bill becomes law, schools that receive federal funding will be forced to exclude transgender young people from school athletics programs. During the House debate today legislators questioned how, exactly, HR28 would be enforced: Would students, for example, be subject to invasive body examinations by adults to determine their eligibility to play? While this bill claims to “protect women and girls”, its true impact will be to exclude transgender and intersex women and girls from participation in school sports, and to put pressure on all women and girls to conform to rigid sex stereotypes.
Allison Scott (she/her pronouns), Director of Impact and Innovation at the Campaign for Southern Equality, said today:
“The passage of HB28 by the U.S. House of Representatives is a cruel and unjust abuse of power that targets a very small number of young people who just want to play school sports with their friends. It’s appalling that one of the first priorities of this new Congress is to bully children with the weight of a federal law. I want to send a clear message to transgender young people and their families: No law can strip you of your inherent dignity and humanity, and we will never stop working alongside you and a huge community nationwide to ensure all people can live authentically and with joy. The Senate should do the right thing here, refuse to exclude and marginalize children, and reject this legislation.”
HB28 now heads to the United States Senate.
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