In efforts to decide once again what someone else should do with their body, Republication legislatures have crafted a bill, House Bill 1572, focused on restricting the participation of children in sports or athletic teams different than their biological sex. The Tennessee bill has gained widespread attention because of its potential effect on transgender athletes. Legislators are arguing that one’s biological sex may disadvantage others in competitive sports, and similar bills have also been introduced in New Hampshire, Washington, Georgia, and Missouri the Wall Street Journal reported.
The bill introduced by Republican Tennessee Rep. Bruce Griffey requires elementary and secondary schools that receive public funding to allow students to participate in school sports based on their biological sex indicated on their original birth certificate. “I’m just trying to maintain fairness,” Griffey said. “I don’t want girls to be at a disadvantage.”
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Schools have been warned not to accept amended birth certificates and that violating the law has a penalty of up to $10,000 or risk of losing public funding provided by the government.
CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF reported that schools that intentionally allow transgender students to play on teams not aligning with their birth certificates will be "immediately ineligible to continue to receive public funds of any type from this state or a local government.” Schools aren’t the only ones at risk, according to
AL.com, officials who do not comply could be laid off and restricted from holding a public office or school administrative position in the state for up to five years.
While advocates believe the bill directly targets transgender students and their rights, Griffey told CNN it is a “proactive measure,” meant to promote “fairness.” According to CNN, the legislator emphasized that “males have a genetic advantage” and said that those deemed males at birth have “larger hearts” and better upper body strength which gives them a greater advantage in sports over the opposite sex. "It's not intended to demean, degrade, or diminish anyone," Griffey said. "It's just trying to maintain fairness." By introducing this bill, Griffey seems to believe he will take “the burden” away from girls and be working towards more fair rights.
Transgender advocate and athlete Chris Mosier shared his thoughts and spoke up against the bill on social media. In a tweet, he said: "Trans girls are GIRLS. They are not boys pretending to be girls," he wrote last week. "Grown ups act like they don't remember how miserable ages 12-18 were in terms of confidence, making friends, fitting in & feeling accepted. No one is transitioning in this world for any other reason than survival."
According to CBS News, Mosier is the first trans man to make a men’s U.S. National Team and is widely known for urging the International Olympic Committee to change its policy to allow other transgender athletes to compete at the Olympics. In another tweet he said:
Trans people do not transition because they think it would “be cool” or “because their friends are doing it.”
Transgender identity is not a fad. Young trans people do not transition for social points or to stand out. It is not “just a phase.”
Trans identity is valid & real.
Legislation discriminating against trans youth is no new trend. Last year, Daily Kos brought to light some terrifying facts. According to the American Association of Pediatrics, “41% of non-binary youth reported that they had attempted suicide at some point, while 29% of trans female students said the same. More than half of trans male teens in the survey reported a suicide attempt,” Daily Kos reported. Policies that limit youth from participating in activities they are passionate about can only add to the stress and barriers they face in their lives. To make things “fair” we shouldn’t be excluding students from activities because of their identity but instead working toward making all environments more inclusive and accepting especially in school.
The average American elementary school students spend over 1,000 hours in school, according to Ed100. It is our responsibility to make sure these hours spent in school are safe and enjoyable for our country’s youth. The National Center for Transgender Equality reports that more than 75% of transgender youth have expressed feeling unsafe at school. What policies are we enacting to combat this issue?
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The legislative session in Tennesse begins next week on Jan. 14 with the bill pending assignment to a committee