Advocates Slam Tulsi Gabbard's Anti-Trans Bill
Trans Equality Advocates have decried a bill targeting trans student athletes that was introduced in the House Nov. 10 by Hawaii's Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, reports Sports Illustrated.
Gabbard, a Democrat, joined forces with Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to sponsor a bill titled the "Protect Women's Sports Act of 2020," which would yank federal funding from schools that allow transgender athletes to compete on women's sports teams.
The proposed law forbids "a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls."
Criticism poured in from equality advocates, reported The Huffington Post.
" 'Tulsi Gabbard is now introducing a blatantly transphobic piece of legislation aimed at trans and non-binary young people,' civil rights activist Charlotte Clymer wrote on Twitter," the Huffington Post article said, going on to note that Zeke Stokes, formerly with GLAAD, also took to Twitter, posting, "Remember when @TulsiGabbard tried to convince us she was an LGBTQ ally? We knew she was a liar, a fraud. Here's the proof."
Stokes, referencing Gabbard's decision not to run for re-election and the expiration of her term next month, added: "She is in her final days as a member of Congress and THIS is what she decides to do."
Gabbard claimed in a statement that Title IX - landmark legislation from 1972 that provided for women's equality in any "education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance" - is being "misinterpreted" and "weakend" by states that allow trans athletes to compete in women's sports. Gabbard claimed that trans athletes participating in women's sports creates "undue hardship and lost opportunities for female athletes."
Added Gabbard: "Our legislation protects Title IX's original intent which was based on the general biological distinction between men and women athletes based on sex."
Rep. Mullin echoed his Democratic colleague, saying, "Title IX was designed to give women and girls an equal chance to succeed, including in sports. Allowing biological males to compete in women's sports diminishes that equality and takes away from the original intent of Title IX."
Sports illustrated recalled that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling last summer finding that the Civil Rights Act extends to gender identity.