NC House passes ban on trans athletes in women’s sports with a veto-proof majority
The North Carolina House passed legislation Wednesday that would bar transgender female athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams in middle school, high school and college.
House Bill 574, named the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, was filed earlier this month and would ban “students of the male sex” from participating in athletic teams “designated for females, women, or girls.” The bill was originally written to apply only to middle schools and high schools, but was replaced with a new version Wednesday morning that would apply to community colleges and four-year colleges as well.
The bill passed the House in a 73-39 vote, with at least three Democrats joining Republicans in voting for the bill: Reps. Garland Pierce of Scotland County, Shelly Willingham of Edgecombe County and Michael Wray of Halifax County. Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham of Charlotte, who recently switched parties, was among the supporters in committee.
It now heads to the Senate, which has filed its own companion bill.
Earlier on Wednesday, HB 547 cleared two important committees before it could be voted on by the House. Lawmakers on the House Judiciary 1 Committee approved the bill in a party-line vote, after more than an hour of debate and public comment. Republicans said the bill was necessary to protect athletic opportunities for women, while Democrats said the bill was a solution looking for a problem, and represented a “proxy for discrimination.”
Swimmer Riley Gaines in NC to back bill
Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, a Henderson County Republican and one of HB 574’s primary sponsors, turned over most of her time while presenting the bill to Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and political activist who has earned national attention for opposing the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports.
Gaines spoke about competing against Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete who swam for the University of Pennsylvania, and who tied with Gaines for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle final during the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships. Despite tying within a hundredth of a second, Gaines said the trophy was given to Thomas.
“I felt betrayed and belittled, and like my efforts and sacrifices I had made had been reduced to a photo-op, to validate the identity and feelings of a male,” Gaines said. “But my feelings did not matter.”
Gaines said that by allowing Thomas to compete against top female swimmers, the NCAA had “intentionally discriminated on the basis of sex.”
“Although they claim they act in the name of inclusion, their policies in fact excluded female athletes — the very athletes whom Title IX was created to protect,” Gaines said.
Rep. Erin Paré, a Wake County Republican, said she believed the bill was a “common-sense bill” and said she couldn’t imagine that there would be any opposition to it.
But Democrats on the committee said they didn’t understand why the bill was needed in the first place, and said they were worried that banning trans athletes from playing on women’s sports teams would negatively impact trans youth.
Durham Rep. Vernetta Alston, who is gay and one of a few LGBTQ lawmakers in the General Assembly, said the bill would unfairly discriminate against trans athletes.
“It’s part of what I think is a larger effort to ban transgender people from living their lives openly,” Alston said. “Transgender youth will not have access under this bill ... to the important childhood experience of sports. This bill will put their mental health at further risk.”
