Bill banning trans girls, women from school sports passes U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a floor vote to ban trans and intersex girls and women from participating in sports at federally funded schools and universities.
A similar bill is also currently before the U.S. Senate. While the 216-206 vote fell mostly along party lines, Texas Democrats Vicente Gonzalez of District 34 (located in the furthest south point of the state and including Corpus Christi) and Henry Cuellar of District 29 (which runs along the Texas/Mexico border at Laredo and stretches north to San Antonio) voted in favor of the bill.
Democrat Don Davis of North Carolina voted “present.” The vote drew quick and widespread condemnation from LGBTQ advocates. Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of Advocates for Trans Equality, released a statement saying, “This discriminatory bill is an unconscionable attack on transgender girls and women across the country.
Every child deserves a quality education, including the ability to participate in athletic programs. This bill is not motivated out of concern for women and girls in athletics, but animus toward a small group of vulnerable students.” Heng-Lehtinen continued, “We know that school policy, whether made at the local, state or national level, has profound impacts on bullying and harassment of LGBTQI+ students. “If this bill is signed into law, it makes every school less safe for transgender students and their peers.
