Gov. Kay Ivey recently signed into law a ban on transgender athletes from participating in school sports teams that are inconsistent with their biological sex.
The Alabama Legislature states that it “may never allow a biological male to participate on a female team” and that athletes participating in school sports programs must follow the gender on their birth certificates. The bill, HB 391, states that an athlete may only compete against other athletes of that same gender. While gender is based on biology rather than identity, Democrats are attempting to force compliance and “special rights” based on self-identification.
Rep. Scott Stadthagen, a sponsor of the bill, explains how this legislation would protect girls’ sports from transgender girls having an unfair advantage in competition. While human rights advocates argue that trans kids deserve every opportunity to play the sport they identify in, Stadthagen asks about the biological females who’ve worked hard since they started at 4 years old just to get scholarships and dreams yanked before their eyes.
Allowing men to compete in female sports will eventually destroy any change that a biological female has of obtaining college-level scholarships or advancing their athletic career. Republican legislators have argued the unfairness for biological males to compete and beat females in high school sports, adding that they need a bill to protect the integrity of female athletic programs. HB 391 cleared the chamber on a vote of 74-19.
“I want to thank Gov. Ivey for her leadership and for protecting the rights of Alabama’s female athletes. Standing up for what is right is not always easy, but it is always the right thing to do,” Stadthagen adds.
Alabama has become the latest of more than a dozen states looking to prohibit trans students from participating in certain competitions.
Missouri House lawmakers also recently voted 100-51 on a provision to a bill that would require transgender athletes to compete on teams that align with the gender on their birth certificates. The bill still needs two more votes of approval before moving to the Senate. The provisions would apply to public K-12 schools, as well as the potential to reach colleges and university institutions. Republican lawmakers, such as Rep. Chuck Basye, have said that the bill would protect biological females in sports so that they don’t miss out on athletic scholarships.
Between 2017 and 2019, two transgender sprinters Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood won 15 championship races, which prompted a lawsuit by four biologically female girls who argued that there are “inherent differences between men and women” in competition. Men naturally have larger bone structure, higher bone density, stronger connective tissue, and higher muscle density than women. While these traits can be weakened with reduced levels of testosterone, they do not go away.
In January, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to protect transgender women and force states to conform with their gender identity Since then, 35 bills have been introduced by state legislators to maintain fairness in women’s athletics and reduce the inherent “competitive edge” of trans athletes who identify as female.
Gov. Tate Reeves said his state felt there was “no choice” but to sign the “Mississippi Fairness Act” into law, which prohibits biological boys from competing in girls’ sports. “We will protect our young girls and ensure them a fair shot in public school sports. They should not be forced to compete against biological males,” Gov. Reeves wrote.
Too many elected officials on the radical left have seemingly forgotten that biology is not bigotry, it’s just science.
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