A bill from New Hampshire is on its way to the governor’s desk that would prohibit transgender athletes in grades 5 through 12 from participating on teams that reflect their gender identity.
A law requiring schools to identify all teams as girls, boys, or coed was approved 13–10 on Thursday, with the Republican-led Senate voting along party lines. Eligibility would be based on students’ birth certificates.
Legislative supporters claimed that their goal was to shield young women from harm caused by bigger, more powerful transgender athletes.
We are unable to address every situation while discussing rights and justice. Therefore, biological guys have an edge over biological girls in a very specific sense that I believe most of us can clearly see,” Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Republican Senate President Jeb Bradley stated. We are unable to enact laws that guarantee complete fairness. However, we are unable to grant privileges to one at the expense of another.
Transgender athletes participating on K–12 and collegiate sports teams is prohibited in some form in at least 20 states, but a Biden administration rule prohibiting such complete bans is scheduled to go into effect this year following several delays and strong opposition.
Legal challenges have also been made to the bans: a federal appeals court stopped West Virginia from enforcing its ban last month, at least with regard to one eighth-grader who is on the track and field team. A judge in Ohio suspended a law that prohibited transgender girls from participating in scholastic sports and from receiving gender affirming medical care for minors.
A bill that would have prohibited transgender girls from playing on high school and collegiate sports teams was previously approved by the New Hampshire Senate. Nonetheless, earlier this month, the House defeated it.
Democrats who were against the Thursday-passed bill claimed it was motivated by scare tactics. There are just five transgender girls that play sports in New Hampshire, according to Stratham, New Hampshire, Democrat Sen. Debra Altschiller.
“There is no threat from those five girls. “They pose the threat,” she remarked. “Although this protective gesture seems selfless, we decline. Protect the marginalized transgender females if you genuinely care about protecting girls.
Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, has not stated where he stands on the bill, and when a request for comment was made on Thursday, his spokesperson did not immediately reply.