Texas senators voted on Friday, October 15, to bar transgender people from participating in female school athletics in order to protect the safety and interests of female students.
The Texas Senate, according to CBS News, approved a bill on Friday night mandating transgender public school athletes to play on teams that fit their biological gender, not the gender they feel as. If the Texas House accepts an adjustment to the legislation's wording, the contentious measure, which cleared the lower chamber on Thursday, would be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk.
House Bill 25, introduced by Representative Valoree Swanson, limits student-athletes to participating on teams that match their biological sex as stated on their birth certificate. The bill, however, specifies that a corrected clerical mistake on a birth certificate qualifies for an exemption.
Male teams will not be permitted to field transgender male athletes unless there are no other alternatives for the sport.
The bill's supporters argue that transgender women, who were born biologically male, would have an unfair edge over its competitors who were born biologically female. The bill has been criticized, however, by some who claim it is hostile to and discriminatory towards transgender persons.
In a letter to the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday, Susan Broyles Sookman wrote that passing legislation that would deny trans children the ability to participate in school activities is "wrong and would enshrine discrimination against a vulnerable minority group of children into law."
"This bill is clearly a part of a systematic attempt to strip away rights from trans kids and their parents," she said.
According to the Texas Tribune, supporters of HB 25 claim that the law does not entirely prohibit transgender students from participating in school sports. They must, however, play on teams based on their biological sex at birth, regardless of sexual orientation.
Swanson stated on the House floor on Thursday that the issue was "all about girls and protecting them in our UIL sports."
A press conference held on Wednesday by Swanson, along with other lawmakers and non-profit groups, claimed the bill is necessary to prevent transgender girls from taking the places of cisgender females on sports teams. However, LGBTQ rights activists claim that there is insufficient evidence to back up these claims in Texas.
On Thursday, Democrat lawmakers grilled HB 25 with vigor and conviction, saying that if it becomes law, it will have negative consequences for transgender children and claiming that it fails to address real issues in women's sports.
During the almost 10-hour-long discussion that preceded the vote on Thursday, Democrat lawmakers made impassioned final remarks, many of which urged their colleagues to reconsider supporting the legislation.
Some suggested changes included reserving local school boards' authority over student involvement on sports teams, limiting HB 25 to individual sports rather than team sports, and limiting the law to schools with a certified professional counselor on staff. D-Austin Representative Vikki Goodwin, who introduced this amendment, said lawmakers should consider the bill's potential effect on children's mental health before passing it. In the end, none of these changes were adopted.
At least five states have reportedly passed legislation this year restricting the participation of transgender student athletes in sports. In West Virginia, a new state legislation prohibiting transgender athletes from participating on teams that reflect their gender identification has already been challenged in court.
