House Republicans are planning a vote next week on legislation to bar biological men from women’s and women’s sports at colleges, universities and public schools across the country.
The Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act was introduced by Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, who said it was time to “save women’s sports” from biological men who have ” not their place” in competition with women.
The vote comes as the debate over transgender rights and the effect of those rights on American culture continues to fuel controversy. Just last week, NCAA champion swimmer and spokesperson for the Independent Women’s Forum Riley Gaines was assaulted by protesters at San Francisco State University as she opposed this that transgender female athletes be allowed to compete against biological female athletes.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will vote this month on legislation backed by NCAA champion swimmer Riley Gaines to prevent transgender female athletes from being allowed to compete against biological female athletes. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images/File | Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images/File)
Gaines said she supported Steube’s bill when he introduced it this year.
“As an athlete who has experienced the injustice of competing against a man firsthand, I am grateful for the leadership of Rep. Steube,” Gaines wrote. “He has made it clear that he will fight for fairness, privacy and safety for girls and women in sport.”
Under Steube’s bill, educational institutions that receive Title IX funding from the federal government would not be permitted to “permit a person whose gender is male to participate in any athletic program or activity designed for women or girls”.
The bill states that an athlete’s gender would only be recognized by their “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” The legislation would allow transgender female athletes to train or practice in an all-girls sports program, but only if no biological female athlete is denied a spot on the roster.
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Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., says transgender women have “no place” competing against biological female athletes, and he wants to demand that all Title IX institutions ban their participation. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
Steube said his bill is needed to combat an invasion of “woke” policies across the country that go against the spirit of Title IX, which was intended to encourage women’s sports.
“Wake and progressive leftist politics have invaded schools and campuses across America,” Steube wrote in March. “Allowing biological men on women’s sports teams and in their locker rooms creates an unfair competitive environment for female athletes.”
“Americans deserve the opportunity to see where their elected officials stand on this incredibly important issue,” he added. “I look forward to voting in favor of this legislation to save women’s sports in the House very soon.”
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The legislation has already divided Congress, with Democrats making it clear that most or all of them would oppose the prosecuting attorney bill. The House Education and Workforce Committee approved the legislation in a 25-17 vote – all Republicans voted in favor and only Democrats voted against.
Republicans have argued that the Biden administration is hurting women’s athletics not just by supporting the participation of transgender women, but by seeking a Title IX amendment that would cement the idea that sports programs must allow transgender athletes to participate. sport that matches their gender identity.
Republicans say the Biden administration is destroying women’s sports by allowing transgender women to compete against biological women. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)
The House Education and Workforce Committee approved the bill along with a report on the extent to which attempts to allow transgender women to play alongside biological women are eroding the Objective of Title IX.
“Allowing men to compete in women’s sports undermines the progress made by women and girls since the enactment of Title IX and uses a groundbreaking anti-discrimination law to discriminate against the very people it was meant to protect,” the report said.
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House GOP leaders are allowing all members to propose amendments to the bill, which must be submitted by this week for consideration.