‘NOT ABOUT SPORTS’

Legislators Fail to Cite Examples to Justify Anti-Trans Laws

An Associated Press investigation found that many lawmakers seeking to ban trans girls from high school sports could not name one incident where inclusion had brought problems.

Legislators across America seeking to ban trans girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in public high schools cannot, in the main, cite an instance or example in their own state or region where such participation has caused problems.

In a new investigation, The Associated Press reached out to two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring such anti-trans measures around the country, as well as the conservative groups supporting them. As The Daily Beast has previously reported, there are a number of bills presently in state legislatures seeking to ban trans teenagers from being able to access medical care, and participate in school sports.

In South Carolina, Rep. Ashley Trantham told the AP she knew of no trans athletes competing in the state. Proposing a ban, Trantham said, was aimed at preventing possible problems in the future. A bill in Tennessee was necessary so the state could be “proactive,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said.

“This is not about sports,” Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Project, told the AP. “It’s a way to attack trans people.”