DEMOCRATS UNANIMOUS AS HOUSE PASSES BILL FORCING SCHOOLS TO LET MALE ATHLETES COMPETE IN GIRLS’ SPORTS
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Democratically controlled House of Representatives voted Friday 236-173 in favor of the Equality Act, which would require schools to include male athletes who identify as transgender girls on female sports teams.
Eight Republicans crossed party lines to vote for the bill, which had unanimous Democratic support.
The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make “sexual orientation and gender identity” protected characteristics under federal anti-discrimination law.
Among other things, that would force public schools to expand female athletic teams to include biological males who identify as transgender girls.
Republican Florida Rep. Greg Steube introduced a last-minute amendment to the bill that would have preserved Title IX’s protections of female athletic teams, but Democrats rejected it.
Every House Democrat but one co-sponsored the legislation. The only Democrat who wasn’t a co-sponsor, Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, announced his support for the bill following pressure from left-wing activists.
“People need to wake up. This radical bill is going to totally eliminate women’s and girls sports,” Republican Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko warned in an op-ed Thursday.
Republican Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler and a half-dozen other House Republicans held a press conference Thursday in opposition to what Hartzler dubbed the “Inequality Act.”
“Congress enacted Title IX to provide equal opportunities for women in education and sports. All this is erased under H.R. 5,” Hartzler said at the press conference.
Three former elite female athletes, Doriane Coleman, Martina Navratilova and Sanya Richards-Ross, warned that the Equality Act would wreak havoc on women’s sports in an April 29 Washington Post op-ed.
“The legislation would make it unlawful to differentiate among girls and women in sports on the basis of sex for any purpose. For example, a sports team couldn’t treat a transgender woman differently from a woman who is not transgender on the grounds that the former is male-bodied,” the former athletes wrote.
“Yet the reality is that putting male- and female-bodied athletes together is co-ed or open sport. And in open sport, females lose,” the three women warned.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, insisted the bill wouldn’t put female athletes at a disadvantage.
“Many states have sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination laws, and all of them still have women’s sports. Arguments about transgender athletes participating in sports in accordance with their gender identity having competitive advantages have not been borne out,” Nadler said at a April 2 hearing on the bill.
In Connecticut, one of the states to which Nadler was referring, two male runners have dominated girls’ high school track. A female competitor called the male runners’ advantage “demoralizing.”
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The Dems/Libs have just had one of their finest hours - and the eight Repubs who voted for this need to become the Dems/Libs they truly are.
Next - the Senate is all going to be admitted to the nearest emergency room due to having such laughing fits and convulsions.
OMFG
It's good to see the foolish Dems continue to destroy their once respected party.
They are so out of touch and step with everyday American citizens that it's unbelievable
I don't think the transgender vote will be big enough to get them over the hump.
I do see the House being retaken by the Republicans next year.
Greg - I truly can not believe that the party that sponsored and passed this bill (?) has any idea of what the vast, vast majority of American citizens are looking for in our government body.
I think they are going to learn it all over again at election time!
thanks for seeding this. I’ve seeded warnings about this bill several times before it passed and the secular progressives defended the law and attacked the opposition as bigots. Maybe you will have a better reception here than I did.
Good gawd .... please tell me this is from the onion!
No? We are wholly and totally screwed with leadership like this.
Unbelieveable
There have already been numerous threads on this subject. As long as the trans-female athletes are and have been on proper doses of both estrogen and androgen blockers for 6 months what more do you want them to do? Is the school going to pay for gender surgery if you want their testes removed?
If trans-women (male to female) had to compete as male then trans men would have to compete as women. How do you think that would work out because those trans-men (female to male) have a much higher testosterone level.
Do you want to bans mtf and ftm athletes from participating in sports?
Maybe you could go all the way and ban black athletes from participating on an equal basis with white athletes or is that too obvious?
"Maybe you could go all the way and ban black athletes from participating on an equal basis with white athletes or is that too obvious?"
Ridiculous racebaiting does not address the issue at hand.
Do you think that those female to male trans-boys with a male level of testosterone are going to be on an equal basis with CIS girls?
It is gender baiting in this issue. Social conservatives have a problem with trans people.
Trans boys were born female and now they are living as males and taking larges doses of testosterone to masculinize their body to match their male gender identity.
Di you really think that a transboy with a male gender identity and a male level of testosterone is going to be a fair match for a genetic female?
Anyone born male will have an unfair physical advantage over anyone born female. Testosterone levels don't change body type or strength.
The war on women by the Democrats continues unabated.
Black isn't a gender. Try another spin...
Or perhaps you could stop making completely ridiculous rationalizations.
less emotion please and more reason
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No, but the analogy for the past discrimination against black athletes is a solid one.
You're kind of a jeenyus at picking out these rare examples of absurd claims, never letting go of them and pretending it's some widespread phenom. You don't seem to be able to dismount your hobbyhorse. And I've got a new abbreviation since you love that SJW one: SIW -- Social Injustice Warrior, and I credit you as the inspiration and dub you this movement's founder. Congratulations.
OK, now you have blown it.
I played high school, Junior College and College sports. In ALL of our competitions, we were subject to drug testing to determine if we had added any substance to our systems that would/could enhance our performance ability and give us an ADVANTAGE over our competitors.
So, you're saying, that since the "person" can't determine if they're a male or female, it is totally permissible to introduce DRUGS into their system to give them the UNFAIR ADVANTAGE of ARTIFICIAL ENHANCEMENT over the other competitors in that particular sport - just because that particular "person" can't determine what sex they are???
BS - if you can't make it on your OWN INDIVIDUAL ABILITIES WITHOUT DRUGS - you shouldn't be in that competition,, regardless of your sex/sexual orientation.
I wish the left luck (sarc) gettin that piece of filth they call legislation past the Senate which they do not control. I foresee a crash and burn on this one...
"The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make “sexual orientation and gender identity” protected characteristics under federal anti-discrimination law." This means any male who claims to identify as female is now eligible for any and all female sports scholarships by law. No he does not have to be taking hormones or have any surgery. All he has to do is be better at his chosen sport than the females who would normally win those scholarships and they will forced to award the scholarship to him. So much for women's rights.
But, if the Dems/Libs are going to start pulling these kinds of stunts - I think we need to be on the lookout at what other Civil Rights and Constitutional Rights they are going to start tearing apart.
You really think that cis-males are going to sign up for girls/women sports just to excel? [deleted] but any male who'd try this stunt would get such well-deserved ridicule that his high school career would be a living hell-- also well deserved.
Trump is NOT the topic. Quit deflecting.
Crazy times we live in.
This going to make great fodder for whoever authors the America focused equivalent of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in a thousand years.
Democrats declare war on young women. Shameful. Just shameful.
There are ways to treat trans kids fairly without destroying the opportunities for female athletes. As someone who coached and advocated for female athletes for two decades, I am disgusted.
What happened to "listen to women?" What happened to "believe women?"
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Outside of the Olympics and Women's world Cup, who cares?
Any girl that is trying to compete at the high school level to get a college scholarship.
Or are you against girls/women being able to compete on a level playing field?
Apparently so.
do people actually believe that cisgendered boys are going to pretend to be transgendered girls just to compete in girl's sports and try to win ? so they can - what - brag they won in girl's sports ?
People do some pretty insane shit, especially when it comes to school or school sports. Just look at all the people spending hundreds of thousands - even millions - of dollars to fake getting their kid onto a sports team so they can go to the college they want to go to. Who would have predicted that lunacy?
Look at how many athletes use performance enhancing drugs and/or steroids to compete - in spite of knowing full well the dire legal and medical consequences. Look at how many do it even though they are already at the top of their game (see: Barry Bonds)
It doesn't even need to start out as something nefarious. Maybe somebody genuinely wants to make the change, but decides along the way that maybe they don't need to rush to get the testosterone out of their system. Maybe they could make the change as slow or as minimally as possible and just enjoy the slight benefit that goes along with it. If it's not technically cheating, it's ok, right?
um.. that's been happening for quite a few years, decades even - have you not been paying attention ? i haven't seen any biological male pretend to be a trans female just to win at female sports to go to their choice of college to compete on female's sports teams -- maybe you could show a couple instances ?
oddly.. those performance enhancing drugs, for guys, aren't changing their biological sex nor enabling them to compete in women's sports - it's just so they can be better at competing at guys sports (same applies to women)
you do have a point with that and i will agree that rules need to be set in place for instances like that.
I accept the fact that some biological males identify as female. Male body, female mental identity. I get that. And it makes great sense to accept people for who they are and not force them to conform to societal norms (as long as they do no harm). So, in this case, individuals who identify as the gender opposite their physiology should be allowed to do so.
So now move to physical activities like sports. We segregate male and female sports for a very good reason. That reason is because the male body is generally more suited to athletic endeavors. No matter how talented a female tennis player, she typically will be at a great disadvantage going up against an opponent with male muscularity. Moving to sports like football or hockey illustrate the problem in rather glaring clarity.
For the most part this is not going to be a problem because there are so few trans. But the ethical and logical factors are still worthy of discussion.
A counterargument is that people are naturally different. So some girls are naturally more muscular than others and thus have a similar advantage. And that is true. It is also true that some people are simply not athletic. The natural advantage argument is sound. Recognizing that most differences must simply be accepted, we need to draw lines of demarcation at what are considered the critical differences. Historically, competitive athletics have done just that. Depending upon the sport we draw the line based on age, weight, height, gender and/or skill level (e.g. beginners vs intermediate vs advanced). These are the measurable factors that matter most in sports.
Now we have legislation that in effect argues that the well established gender demarcation is no longer valid if an athlete believes himself to be female. But the athletic / competitive reasoning for gender demarcation was not found to be invalid, the reasoning for the demarcation remains sound, right?
Seems we have a substantial logical contradiction.
Well, I don't think the Democrats are going to find that this will be a winning issue for them.
Hmmm interesting and thought provoking .. I have to say no, the reasoning is no longer sound, another major boundary has been moved - thus opening the door for further challenge to the standard guidelines.
.. females have already crossed over to playing football with males, as well as competing in wrestling programs.. a female can even be a Boy Scout .. when it comes to gender equality .. transgender rights .. the battle 'kind of really' has just begun. What team will the gender neutral play for? My friends youngest daughter identifies as Agender..
Must have been difficult for him to come out of the closet...
Yeah - the door was too low.
And should continue to do so, indefinitely and probably forever. When it comes to transgender, there is still too much to learn and understand before we allow people born with male bodies to compete in female athletics in any sport. I don't know if there are enough hormones to have ever made it fair to allow Caitlyn Jenner to compete in girls'/women's athletics. Until we know, then transgenders should not be allowed to compete as females - period.
I have sympathy for the transgender people of all ages. Life can be confusing enough when the brain and sexual organs are aligned.
Ironically, I think the failure of trans advocates on this point drives some young people into changes they don't need.
For some people who genuinely look at their body and see themselves trapped in something alien, probably the only way they can ever find peace is through surgery and hormone treatments. One of my oldest friends is one of those people.
But I think for a lot of people, they present as someone who acts and has preferences outside of expected gender norms and the trend today is to decide that person is trans and requires medical intervention. That approach is actually enforcing gender stereotypes. If we were serious about defeating those standards, we would tell young people there are an infinite number of ways to be a male or female and allow them to behave as they are comfortable.
There is nothing wrong, for example, with being a female with short hair, wearing pants, playing sports, driving trucks, or whatever else it is we think guys normally do. And the reverse, of course, is true. Probably many people could live as what they are without having to behave in ways that socially conform to the expectations of their biological sex if the rest of us were just ok with that.
I think you are correct. People in general seem overly concerned about acceptance. That is part of the reason why group think even exists. We all have a tendency to try to fit in and be accepted. It takes work to think for oneself and it takes guts to go against the established norms.
Live and let live would indeed go a long way to reduce radical moves by people to conform.
Therein lies the rub.
Jejune.
Rumpelstiltskin.
So far, the "legislation" hasn't passed the Senate sniff test yet.
I suspect knowledge that this is very unlikely to pass the Senate was part of the thought process for many.
Why? Both Houses of Congress have been trying to pass ENDA for over 2 decades, the Equality Act is the next step since it includes housing and the jury system.
Frankly, as they already allow females to participate and compete in male sports, such as baseball, football and others, then there should be no qualms about allowing males to do the same in girl's sports if they choose to do so.
IMHO, there won't be that many males that will want to participate or compete with girls in their sports. However, if there are any, they should be allowed to do so, and if not, then they should not allow girls to so in boy's sports.
JMOO
As far as I know, the only girls in 'boys' sports are competing in sports were there is only a 'boys' team.
Well....I have read where there is a girl playing on an all boys football team, baseball team, soccer and a few others ......
Soccer:
Baseball:
Football:
Jen Welter becomes first woman to play in men's pro football league in contact position -
These are just a few I could find right off. There are more who are set to follow in their footsteps.
The only team that I see there that they could have a girls soccer team.
From your link:
So it looks like they don't have a girls soccer team. It also says 39 girls play on boys teams in CT.
There are no 'girls' football or baseball teams that I know of.
Not so....
Football:
;
Baseball:
Soccer:
Just doing a bit of quick on-line research proves this is not the case.
'Girls' was the operative word there RW.
Your first 'football' link is for a defunct Ausie WOMEN's league. BOTH leagues have half naked women playing 'football'.
As for your baseball link, I saw 'A league of their own', too. The last game they played was before even I was born.
As I said, as far as I know, there are no GIRLS baseball teams. Recently, they are allowing girls play Little League and that should help girls compete on a one on one basis. As your link showed, last year we FINALLY fielded a women's National baseball team and many of those young women probably got to play in Little League. Maybe some day there will be women in MLB.
As the CT link you posted shows, 39 GIRLS are playing on BOYS teams because there are no GIRLS soccer teams for them to try out for. It isn't a stretch to presume that there are many states where GIRLS are doing the same. The fact that some colleges have teams and the US fields a national team doesn't change that fact.
So it's pretty obvious that even 45 years after Title IX, GIRLS still don't have anything near equal opportunity in sports.
Couldn't disagree more.
Girls playing in boys sports? Okay, if they can compete, i'm all for it. But boys in girls sports? The average boy athlete WILL dominate the average girl athlete in most sports. It would penalize girls in girls sports. Not good, not good at all.
Some things are just natural/logical separations and IMO that is one of them.
Well....I have to disagree with you there. That's kind of misogynistic thinking. I have met a good many girls who can hold their own any day of the week against a male. And I have seen males get their butts kicked by a female.
Girls today and not the little shrinking violets and fragile Magnolia blossoms of yester year. I was a Tom Boy in my youth and could out run, out tree and rope climb, and out wrestle any boy in our neighborhood. And that is fact. I also played field baseball, hockey, ran track, and could punch with the best of them. And most of today's girls are more fit that most of us were in my day.
So if you think there are not some girls that can hold their own in a boys sports, or could not fairly compete against boys in girl's sports, you might want to think twice.
As have i, myself included in one instance but it simply isn't the norm. The physiology of the situation dictates the norm. And that norm yields boys over girls most of the time. Thats just reality no matter how you try to slice it.
Not even close to what i was said. In fact its just the opposite of what i said so i suggest you take that chip off your shoulders and read what i said again.
Boys playing in girls sports will take spots from away girls. No question about it. And i for one am surprised you would support taking those opportunities away from girls. Very surprised. Having coached JrH and HS sports, its already hard enough telling parents and the kids they didn't make the team. This would just make it worse for the girls.
This is just another case of taking care of a minority while screwing the majority. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not so. It's called gender equality. A term I know most males hate to hear or see. No matter what their gender, if the person qualifies for the position they are trying out for they should have just as much right to be considered for that position as anyone else, no matter what their gender. To do otherwise is called gender bias or prejudice. This term is not one that males hear, but, a large majority of females do, and not only in sports.
So for you to say that women are considered a minority, then your male chauvinism is showing bright and clear.
Your words not mine. Once again the chip on your shoulder shines through like a beacon in a lighthouse. It's clear now that you have no interest in checking it at the door on this one.
The minority is the small number of biological boys who would try to take spots from the majority of biological girls in sports. Make no mistake, that is a minority. A very small minority And again, i am honestly surprised you would support taking such opportunity away from girls.
I don't. Not for gender equality, not for anything.
Well..... I am not taking anything away from girls. Again, it's called gender equality. If a male or female can qualify for the position, they have a right to be considered.
Biological gender has no real meaning one way or the other. It would be unfair for a trans-gender of either sex to be denied a spot on a team they are amply qualified for on any team and allow a totally unqualified person to take the spot simply because they are biological. That is called prejudice.
Seeing how we disagree on this topic, let's agree to disagree and call it good.
Agreed
It is interesting how few "feminists" (and they are plentiful here) are voicing an objection to this.
Must be an awfully confusing time for them.
Yet y'all have been harping on it for DAYS while ignoring the MAJORITY of those that will be helped by the Equality Act.
Most feminists are intelligent enough to understand that the Equality Act will not have a negative effect on the political, economic or social equality of the sexes.
Wrong, it’s still a minority, negatively affecting a majority.
A victory, for the few boys, who want to dominate girls sports.
Congrats!
First of all, it would behoove you to READ MORE CAREFULLY.
Secondly, please cite what majority will be negatively affected by the Equality Act and HOW will it 'change' them.
Your comment illustrates a utter lack of understanding of the content and effect of the Equality Act.
Congrats!
Well as usual, your counsel is misplaced. Nothing new there but i’ll be happy to help you understand it.
Boys playing girls sports? Bad.
Girls playing boys sports not so bad.
Gender equality in this case is nothing more that just another progressive exercise in left wing moonbattery.
Refer to post 11.2.15 ..... lather, rinse, repeat as necessary
So don't READ MORE CAREFULLY. If you want to continue to post baseless comments, so be it.
You'd have to understand yourself and your comments have illustrated that you don't.
Concentrating on what you admit is "A very small minority" in order to deflect from the 23 MILLION+ that the Equality Act protects is another neo-national exercise in wingnuttery.
Since it's unnecessary for me to re-read your uninformed comment, I'll take a pass.
Rather than more snark, I'd much rather read your reply to my comment. Here, I'll repeat it:
Please cite what majority will be negatively affected by the Equality Act and HOW will it 'change' them.
I'd also like to know who will be negatively affected and how they will be affected because others have guaranteed equal rights that the majority already enjoy.
Snark is as snark does.
Your question has been asked and answered more than once. The fact that you don’t accept the answer is not my problem.
Here’s another one for you. How many kids have you had to tell they didn’t make the team because others were better? Not many, if any, I bet.
Read the thread. Asked and answered.
I have obviously read the thread and I understand that many people think that trans female teens should not be competing with CIS teens. The problem is do you think that CIS females would fare better in athletic competitions if they were forced to compete against trans males, who were born female?
What rights will I as a CIS female lose if trans people have guaranteed equal rights? Will you as a CIS male also lose any rights because of their guaranteed equality?
Would you rather have separate athletic leagues just for trans teens in the spirit of "separate but equal", but that would also mandate that the school system would be forced to provide coaches and school transportation to those events.
Do trans kids and adults not have any secular rights that need to be protected and guaranteed because scholastic athletic events is just once small piece of that situation? This include workplace/employment protections, rental and home buying, adoptions, healthcare and the public sector, among many others.
I see a lot of similarity to the time when black and white kids competed against each other and white parents thought that black students had an unfair advantage. Maybe you would be happy if male to female trans teens would have an automatic 5 seconds tacked on to their performance. I am certainly not suggesting that this is an easy problem to solve but these students/people didn't ask to be born trans and they cannot be treated unequally just because you don't like or understand the concept of being transgendered and their having equality. Are the CIS teens complaining or it is someone else who are saying that trans kids need to be set apart from their classmates because of their birth biology is incongruent from their psychological gender identity?
From my perspective, it seems that trans people are an easy lighting rod for conservatives to attack because first it was the bathroom bills, despite the fact that trans people have never attacked anyone in the bathroom. They are usually the victim and their rate of being killed for who they are ranks at or near the very top.
Wow, pithy. /s
So now you're claiming that "A very small minority" is a majority." Got ya.
Are you one of those rare conservatives that supports 'participation' trophies? I only coached on year of softball in Chicago a LONG time ago. Everyone made the team.
You are clearly very “vested” in this conversation. I wish you the best in your endeavors but not at the sake of others. I’m not up on all terminology of this topic so let me simplify it once again.
It is absolutely ridiculous trying to rationalize that it is somehow fair and equal to allow biological boys to compete in girls sports. The average boy athlete will dominate the average girl athlete thus putting the all the girls at a significant disadvantage and shitting all over the progress made for women via title nine
it is one of the crazier progressive notions i’ve ever heard. Right along with free college for everyone.
Ridculous!
Again, if the shoe fits, put that sucker on and lace it up.
I can’t make it any clearer for you. Feel free to keep trying to obfuscate what I’ve said here. You’ll be playing with yourself from this point forward so enjoy!
So .... everyone makes the softball team in Chicago? Nice! Did everyone get to start as well? Wouldn’t want to hurt any feelings now would we.
There's really no such thing as "male sports." Sports are sports. As it happens, males tend to be better at most sports than females, so where those sports are competitive, males tend to be the ones to make the team. Thus, alternative opportunities were created for females, excluding males from participating. If males weren't excluded, we would have the same scenario we had before; i.e. sports programs that are almost entirely male.
The title of this article is false. If 8 of the 236 votes came from Republicans that means 7 Dems did not vote for it. But it is the Daily Caller so, no surprise there.
It is also cherry picking one small aspect of the bill in order to condemn it.
It is also cherry picking one small aspect of the bill in order to condemn it.
That's very usual for the right.
Yep. And instead of asking to amend that one little section, they will just use it as an excuse to scrap the whole bill.
Why would I amend it? I am not the one that has a problem with it.
I am not against equal rights and protections.
If your for equal rights and protections, why would you scrap the whole thing?
Bullshit.
Those in the LGBT community can loose their jobs, their homes, the right to adopt, all based on where they live.
Equal rights shouldn't be based on what state or town you live in.
So you support this bill.
And pigs with wings.
There is a sport where men and women compete against each other and have for years.
The Iditarod, The Last Great Race On Earth.
The Iditarod ® Race is truly a race among equals, women and men. There is no separate race for women , no special privileges, no mercy. Women compete toe-to-toe with men—and they have a history of victory.
998 miles in some of the most treacherous areas of the world. Crossing two mountain ranges it stretches the competitors to their physical and mental limits.
Just finishing this race is a great accomplishment.
In it's history women have won the event 5 times. This year Ally Zirkle finished 4th. She also has three 2nd places finishes in this race.
Men and women also compete equally in motorsports. We are powered by gasoline instead of dog chow.
They also compete in horse racing. They are powered by horsepower instead of gasoline.
Need to add the other pic Kavika -
Have you not seen, ''Chariots of Fire''
All the usual sorts are carping about trans-males getting on women's sports teams but ignoring the fact that this law also also trans-females to play on men's teams. That would seem to me to be a much more likely thing to happen but why doesn't that spark the high dudgeon from the Constant Belly-ache Community?
Since this is turning into a urinary olympics about definitions between physical and mental "sexes" - gonna close it down.
Good discussions for the most part.
Thanks.