House Republicans have passed legislation that bars transgender women — biological men who identify as women — from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, amends Title IX protections to include only biological woman. The bill was passed strictly on party lines with 219 Republicans voting in favor of the bill and 203 Democrats voting against the measure. Thirteen members did not vote.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), is largely symbolic with zero-to-little change of passing the Democrat-controlled Senate. President Biden this week issued a statement promising to veto the legislation should it somehow survive a Senate vote, saying in a statement released by the White House that the bill “targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer hailed the bill as a victory for women during a press conference shortly after the vote.
“As a former hockey player and coach, I know firsthand the blood, sweat, and tears that go into playing any sport, not to mention the countless hours of training in the off season so that you can compete at your absolute very best. Now, imagine being a female athlete who has worked day in and day out to win. You get to the finish line, you tie for first, but then you have to give up your trophy to a biological male,” he told reporters. “Unfortunately, it’s becoming a reality for more and more female athletes across this great country. The left lunacy is robbing women and girls of equal opportunities in the name of inclusion. That’s why house Republicans today passed this bill to protect the safety and fairness that we should have in women’s sports and to make sure that no female athlete is ever forced to compete against a biological male.”
Democrats dismissed the legislation as “hateful,” “insidious,” and claim it is part of a radical agenda by Republicans, the New York Times reported.
Across the U.S., 21 states have laws in place barring transgender students from participating in sports that don’t align with their biological sex.
