Despite intense national discussions on trans youth involvement in sports, California lawmakers will not alter state laws permitting transgender children and teenagers to play on teams that reflect their gender identities.
Following hours of heated discussion and analysis, Democratic members on the state Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism on Tuesday rejected two Republican lawmakers’ ideas.
According to one bill, the California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school athletics, would have to establish regulations prohibiting children whose sex was assigned as male at birth from playing on a girls’ team. The other would have overturned a 2013 rule that permitted kids to use restrooms and other facilities that correspond with their gender identity and to take part in sex-segregated school activities, such as sports teams. Both K–12 and college students would have been affected.
A day after Transgender Day of Visibility, and weeks after Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom infuriated his political supporters by implying on his podcast that it is unjust for transgender athletes to play sports with girls, the hearing took place.
The legislative LGBTQ caucus is led by Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward, who said the legislation were a part of a larger assault on transgender kid rights. They may also be intrusive to cisgender girls who may be requested to verify their sex, he said.
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Women and girls shouldn’t be subjected to gender policing, according to Ward.
However, the plan was about fairness, according to Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who wrote the bill to overturn the 2013 law.
“Biology is important,” he stated. “One of the areas where that reality is most evident is in sports.”
A prohibition would help guarantee that female athletes receive equitable treatment, according to Taylor Starling, a Riverside student-athlete who claims a transgender runner replaced her on her high school’s varsity cross-country squad.
She questioned why girls are being instructed to keep quiet and sit down while guys unfairly advance in life.
However, parents of transgender children and LGBTQ groups asked Congress to assist trans children in sports and other areas.
The rights and safeguards of trans children, including the right to use a restroom that corresponds with their gender identity, must be upheld, according to Cati Johnson, a parent of a transgender girl enrolled in middle school.
Regarding her daughter, Johnson stated, “The facilities ban really sends the message that she is not welcome as her authentic self.” “And that is simply unacceptable.”
The Williams Institute, a nonprofit at the UCLA School of Law that studies LGBTQ issues, estimates that there are about 49,000 trans kids in California between the ages of 13 and 17.
Elana Redfield, the group’s federal policy director, stated, “We are not seeing evidence that their participation is unfair or harmful, even though we are aware of a few high-profile stories of trans girls playing on teams.” “Anti-transgender prejudice seems to be the main driving force behind these laws.”
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There are regulations in place in at least 24 states that prohibit transgender women and girls from competing in specific women’s or girls’ sports. Bans in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah have been temporarily halted by judges. Students who sued West Virginia and New Hampshire over their prohibitions were permitted to compete there. Last month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that forbids transgender athletes from playing women’s and girls’ sports.
Additionally, some jurisdictions have mandated that schools disclose students’ gender identification to parents without the students’ consent and prohibited gender-affirming care.
Several times, Essayli and other supporters of the measures cited Newsom’s remarks. After years of deliberation, the governor then informed The Los Angeles Times that he stood by his remarks.
“I am aware that many individuals were hurt by that. I simply disagree with individuals on the opposing side of this, though, with all due respect,” he remarked.
Newsom won’t have to comment after the bills died because he hasn’t explicitly asked for a reversal of current state law.
Last week, Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote to Newsom to ask him to clarify his position after expressing interest in his comments on his podcast.
She wrote, “Stand by your convictions.” “Explain the negative effects of gender confusion. Keep women’s areas safe. Children should not be encouraged to seek out long-term medical treatments for their sex. Notify parents.
A legislation that prohibits school districts from mandating teachers and staff to notify parents if a student changes their gender identity at school was also the subject of an investigation last week by the U.S. Department of Education.
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