PUNCHING DOWN

Texas House Votes to Make Life Worse for Trans Kids in Sports

The ACLU warned the bill will stop kids from “playing sports as their authentic selves.”

The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives has passed a bill that aims to ban transgender kids from playing on school sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. According to NBC-DFW, the bill would force schools to place students on teams based on the gender on their birth certificate at birth, and not based on their gender identifies. The bill had stalled in the House three times before Thursday’s vote, but it will now move to the state senate, where it’s expected to pass. However, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas warned that the fight against the bill is far from done. “The Texas House just voted to discriminate against trans kids and exclude them from playing sports as their authentic selves,” it wrote late Thursday. “For months, trans kids and advocates have been fighting against bills like HB 25. That fight doesn’t end tonight.”