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Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) has introduced a bill that would prohibit men who claim to be women from participating in women’s sports. Gabbard has presented this bill along with some of her Republican colleagues.
Gabbard, Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Bill Flores (R-TX), Bill Johnson (R-NC), Alexander Mooney (R-WV) and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) introduced the legislation known as Women’s Sports Protection Act of 2020.
The legislation, according to the House website seeks to “provide that for purposes of determining compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in athletics, sex shall be determined on the basis of biological sex as determined by a physician at birth.”
The second amendment proposed in the bill addresses Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 1972, where it is amended by adding the following at the end:
“It shall be a violation of Subsection (a) for a recipient of federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity designated for women or girls.”
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act provides that no person in the United States shall be excluded from participation in any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance on the basis of sex. Gabbard recognized that this title “led to a generational shift that impacted countless women, creating life-changing opportunities for girls and women that never existed before.”
However, the representative clarified that the law has been weakened by some states that are misinterpreting Title IX, creating uncertainty, undue hardship and lost opportunities for female athletes. “Our legislation protects the original intent of Title IX, which was based on the general biological distinction between male and female athletes based on sex,” she said.
Following the passage of the Education Reform Act in 1972, and with increased funding and institutionalized opportunities, the Congresswoman explained, there has been a 545 percent growth in women playing sports at the university level and a 990 percent increase in women playing sports at the high school level.
She also said that statistics show that because of the law, women are less likely to smoke, drink, go through premature pregnancies and that it increases and improves job opportunities instead. However, such erroneous and confusing interpretations of the bill have been negatively affecting these positive consequences that Title IX generated.
Markwayne Mullin, the co-drafter of the Women’s Sports Protection Act, argued in the same vein as Gabbard that “Title IX was designed to give women and girls an equal opportunity to succeed, including in sports. Allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports diminishes that equality.”
USA Today comments that “Democrats generally support extending anti-discrimination protections to transgender Americans,” but Gabbard, who did not seek re-election, has publicly broken with the Democratic Party on several occasions.
Charles Clymer, now known as Charlotte Clymer, LGBT activist called Tulsi Gabbard a “transphobic Republican.”
Lila Rose, the leader of the pro-life organization Live Action, congratulated this effort of representative Gabbard assuring that it is “a step in the right direction”.
Emilie Kao, director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation said that “biology is important in many areas.” She explained that it is important in sport because it determines competitiveness, performance and results. There is broad bipartisan support, Kao added, for keeping sports separate from men and women. “Americans know that the law must protect fair competition by recognizing the reality of gender differences.”
Rafael Valera, Venezuelan, student of Political Science, political exile in São Paulo, Brazil since 2017 // Rafael Valera, venezolano, es estudiante de Ciencias Políticas y exiliado político en São Paulo, Brasil desde 2017