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Texas Protects Girls in Sports
News: US News
'Anti-trans' law is 'hateful,' says White House
AUSTIN, Texas (ChurchMilitant.com) - Texas lawmakers are facing backlash from the White House after moving to protect girls' sports from biological males.
Legislators in the Lone Star State have passed House Bill 25, "The Save Women's Sports Bill," protecting girls and young women from having to compete with biological males in K–12 sports. The Catholic governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, a Republican, is likely to sign the bill into law.
The Texas law is just the latest move in the culture war over so-called transgender students in sports. The law is being hailed by parents and female athletes, and excoriated by leftists at the White House.
Matt Hill, senior associate communications director at the White House, believes the bill enshrines hatred.
"Our message to young transgender people in Texas and across the country: these hateful bills are bullying disguised as legislation," Hill tweeted, promising that Joe Biden's administration "will always keep fighting for the full equality LGBTQ+ folks deserve."
Our message to young transgender people in Texas and across the country: these hateful bills are bullying disguised as legislation, and @POTUS and our Administration will always keep fighting for the full equality LGBTQ+ folks deserve. #YallMeansAll https://t.co/bpb1UwI1KL
— Matt Hill (@MattHill46) October 19, 2021
The bill, which was approved in a third special legislative session in Austin Monday, is designed to prevent biological males from infiltrating all-female teams and sporting events. It will enforce sex segregation in sports according to the sex on the athletes' birth certificates (as opposed to the gender they choose to identify with).
Republican state representative Valoree Swanson, who authored the bill, sees it simply as a matter of justice.
"This is all about girls and protecting them in our UIL sports," said Swanson Thursday in a debate on the House floor, referring to the University Interscholastic League, which provides leadership and guidance for public school debates. "We need a statewide level playing field. It's very important that we, who got elected to be here, protect our girls," she added.
Swanson insisted that HB 25 "protects girls' safety and their right to equal access to athletic opportunities." She also noted, "Courts have found that the state has a legitimate interest in redressing past discrimination against girls in sports and protecting their equal access to athletic opportunities."
According to the National Law Review, the stated purpose of HB 25 was to remedy past discrimination for girls who historically were denied sufficient interscholastic athletic opportunities because:
- Boys historically participate in interscholastic athletics at higher rates than girls
- Courts have identified a legitimate and important governmental interest in remedying past discrimination against girls in athletics on the basis of sex and have endorsed equality of athletic opportunity between the sexes under Title IX
- Courts have identified that classification by sex is the only suitable classification to promote the governmental interest of providing for interscholastic athletic opportunities for girls
Therefore, the law will bar biological males from competing on girls' teams, ensuring competitive fairness.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki chose not to get involved in the public debate. When asked about what the Biden administration may do to combat the new Texas legislation, she deferred to the Justice Department, noting that "the president's view is that transgender rights are human rights, whether for adults or kids."
Texas has become the 10th state in the nation to enact a law protecting girls' sports from transgender ideology. It joins Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia in enacting common-sense legislation that bans biological males in women's sports and/or bathrooms.
Recently, Texas has been in the national spotlight for its Heartbeat Law, which bans the killing of preborn children after their heartbeat can be detected — which usually occurs at around six weeks post-conception. The Biden administration is challenging the Heartbeat Law in court.
