INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers advanced a Republican-backed bill Thursday that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in K-12 school sports that match their gender identity, despite mounting opposition from activists that it’s unconstitutional, sexist and bigoted.
The bill would prohibit students who were born male but identify as female from participating in a sport or on an athletic team that is designated for women or girls. But it wouldn’t prevent students who identify as female or transgender men from playing on men’s sports teams.
The measure was voted out of the House on Thursday in a 66-30 vote, largely along party lines. Republican Reps. Ed Clere of New Albany and Cindy Ziemke of Batesville joined Democrats in voting against the proposal, which now heads to the Senate.
Democrats argued that the bill is “discriminatory” and “harmful to kids.” They also contended that the Indiana High School Athletic Association already has a policy that requires transgender girls who want to play sports to show they’ve completed hormone therapy, and that their muscle mass or bone density is typical of other girls the same age.
3 comments
Why only limit boys that want to be girls why not limit transgenders from sports teems opposite their birth sex? Since the bill singles out only boys that want to be girls, it will likely not hold up to the test of time. This is discriminatory. A better way to go is you only get to be on a teem of the same sex you were born as, or just make separate teems for transgenders for a total of 4 different sports categories. Bills that pass and then get shot down are a waste of time. This is an important issue and there does need to be regulations on it, but fair regulations to all.
Better to ban transgenderism since there is no such thing.
wouldn’t need such legislation if women would just refuse to compete against men pretending to be women