Kansas lawmakers revive bill banning transgender girls from K-12, college sports
After stalling in the Kansas House, a bill that would ban transgender people from girls sports took a major step forward Thursday.
A panel of Senate and House lawmakers brought the measure, called the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, back to life in a procedural maneuver that could lead to floor votes on the policy, possibly the same day.
The move comes days after President Joe Biden issued guidance to federal agencies saying discrimination of LGBTQ people violates Title IX — the federal prohibition on discrimination based on sex.
If the bill passes, the ACLU of Kansas has pledged to sue, prompting a legal process that the Kansas attorney general predicted to be drawn out and costly.
Advocates of the bill have said they welcome those lawsuits and believe the law will be upheld as it fosters women’s protection under Title IX.
“The Biden administration’s ruling is based on a wrong understanding of Title IX and sex discrimination,” said Brittany Jones, director of advocacy for the Family Policy Alliance.
Rep. Stephanie Byers, a Wichita Democrat and the state’s first transgender lawmaker, said proponents of the bill were telling transgender children they are not welcome.
“It’s really hard not to take this personally. My job as a legislator is to represent my district, but I am a trans woman,” Byers said.
“It can’t be about me. It’s got to be about those folks that are most vulnerable. It’s got to be about those kids.”
Since the bill was introduced in February, Byers and other advocates have said it would result in the ostracizing, bullying and possible suicide of transgender students. Additionally, they say, the bill would carry an economic cost as people and businesses leave the state in protest.
“This bill does not protect girls in sports, this bill puts a target on the back of every little kid who identifies their gender differently,” said Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas. “From leadership who claims to support student safety and bullying prevention, this is B.S.”
Advocates of the bill, however, say transgender women and girls have a physical advantage in girls sports, so others could not fairly compete.
“We also have to be fair to all students in a school setting. That’s what this bill does,” said Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican.
“I’m sure there will be lawsuits, and it’ll be from girls who lost their opportunity to fairly participate in women’s sports.”
The legislation passed in the Senate on a 24-10 vote last month, but it was not brought up for a hearing or vote in the House.
In a conference committee Thursday morning, Republican lawmakers revived the measure.
“I want my daughters to be able to compete fairly,” Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, said during the meeting.
The House and Senate Democrats on the committee voted against the agreement. Both chambers voted later Thursday morning to form a new committee that can pass the agreement without a unanimous vote.
Once the committee approves the measure, ot could be brought to a vote in both chambers.
Missouri’s version of the legislation was headed to the House floor after clearing a second committee on Thursday. Currently, the Missouri State High School Activities Association currently allows transgender boys undergoing testosterone treatment to compete on boys’ teams, and transgender girls to compete on girls’ teams after documenting one year of treatments that suppress testosterone. If passed by the General Assembly, a constitutional amendment requiring students to play sports on teams based on their sex assigned at birth would go to a statewide vote — a proposal that has alarmed activists.
The Star’s Jeanne Kuang contributed to this report.
