Democrats defeated an anti-trans bill in the United States Senate.
While the Trump Administration is still attempting to withhold funding to states who respect gender identity in school sports through Executive Orders and departmental policy, this is currently being fought in court. Meanwhile, this win in Congress helps to prevent further barriers to the transgender community.
It is our view that the transgender community by and large has always been open to discussion on fairness in sports, and how to navigate this complex issue. However, the Republican platform seeks to erase transgender people entirely, rather than work together to uplift transgender athletes while also ensuring equity for all other players through dialogue, collaboration and problem solving in how biology affects athletics.
It’s important to note that this bill could have subjected athletes to invasive medical examinations to prove their biological sex. Additionally, what team would an intersex person (a person born with characteristics from both biological sexes) have to play on? Or how about biological women who play on women’s sports teams but have the muscular density and build traditional of a biological man? It is clear the Republican party is just using biological competitiveness as a guise for being anti-LGBTQ+.
Further, bill sponsor Senator Tuberville (R-Alabama), advocated for the bill with blatant lies, stating that entire teams are made up of trans athletes. In our state, the Michigan High School Athletic Association reports there are two trans athletes playing on teams that align with their gender identity. Two. Out of over 271,000.
We thank the Senate Democrats for standing up for the LGBTQ+ community in the face of relentless attacks.
We hope the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures can refocus their energy on issues that Americans actually care about, rather than fan the flames of culture wars simply because a small portion of the population expresses their gender differently than cultural norms, and/or identifies outside of historical gender roles and expectations.
Help us continue to fight by making a tax-deductible donation at chosenfamilyofmichigan.org
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