The battle to protect the integrity of women’s sports from transgender females (who are biological men) just took a massive turn - for the better.
The House voted to pass a bill titled the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” on Thursday morning. The bill would prevent colleges that receive federal funding from allowing “a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designed for women or girls.” The legislation also adds that an athlete’s sex is defined at birth.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 219-203, with all the “yes” votes coming from Republicans and all the “no” votes coming from Democrats. A Senate vote is expected to take place in the near future.
Progressive lawmakers decried the bill as a form of bullying for transgenders, rejecting the idea from conservatives that the bill is focusing on making sure women have opportunities to succeed in athletics without men intruding.
"This bill is about bullying children," Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) said. "Stop bullying children."
"House Republicans are choosing to bully and belittle trans children," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said. "This is about attacking a small group of children, and it is shameful.”
Greg Stuebe (R-FL), who introduced the bill, said the purpose of this legislation was to allow women to compete against women and prevent any colleges from allowing confused men from changing that dynamic.
"Over the last several years there has been a perversion in our culture by the enemy, and the left has completely embraced the lie to erase the lines of gender and to convince you there isn’t really gender, and that gender is fluid and can be whatever you want whenever you want," Steube said. "The left has taken gender identity so far that many on the left today cannot even define what a woman is for fear of retribution by trans activists."
Former All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been a fierce advocate for the protection of women’s sports, thanked Steube for the work he did to pass the bill she sponsored.
"As an athlete who has experienced the injustice of competing against a male firsthand, I'm grateful for the leadership of Representative Steube," Gaines wrote. "He has made it clear that he will fight for fairness, privacy, and safety for girls and women in sports."