House Republicans passed a bill barring male-born athletes from female scholastic sports, declaring their participation a violation of Title IX and forcing Democrats to go on the record on a hot-button social issue that could come back to haunt them in 2024.
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act passed Thursday on a 219-203 party-line vote. No Democrats broke rank to support the legislation, which requires student-athletes to compete based on their “reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” not gender identity.
Rep. Greg Steube, Florida Republican, said on the House floor that HR 734 “preserves women’s sports and ensures fair competition for generations of women to come, just as Title IX originally intended.”
“It is a sad day in America when the Democrats have regressed so far backward that they are willing to erase the rights that women have fought decades to obtain,” said Mr. Steube, the bill’s sponsor. “All to elevate biological males to the top of women’s podiums.”
Among those cheering the vote was Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender rights advocate who won the 1976 Olympic decathlon as Bruce Jenner.
“HR 734 passed along party lines. @RepGregSteube did a phenomenal job — the GOP is the party that stands for women [while] Dems are trying to ERASE WOMEN! Not one Dem supported this! Shameful!” tweeted Caitlyn Jenner.
SEE ALSO: Biden Title IX proposal opposes categorical ban on male-born athletes in female sports
.@Caitlyn_Jenner gets it! https://t.co/MwLs8wzhtu
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) April 20, 2023
Condemning the House vote was the American Civil Liberties Union, which has challenged similar laws in Idaho, Tennessee and West Virginia. Twenty-one states have adopted restrictions on biological males’ participation in female scholastic sports.
“Today’s vote was a cynical attack against some of the most vulnerable youth in our country,” said Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU’s national political director. “Why are Republicans in Congress spending their time bullying children?”
During the floor debate, Rep. Donald Payne, New Jersey Democrat, blasted the bill as “yet another attack by the Republicans on a vulnerable population in America” and “nothing more than an attempt to score cheap political points and bully transgender youth.”
The legislation is likely dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but Republicans believe they have the upper hand on the issue.
Polls show most Americans oppose allowing male-to-female transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, and Republicans are already pushing the issue on the campaign trail.
Former President Donald Trump, a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said he would “ban men from participating in women’s sports.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political team released a spoof Monday on the classic Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” ad with one called “Real Men of Women’s Sports” that dinged prominent male-to-female athletes such as former collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas.
The White House said Monday that President Biden would veto the bill if it reaches his desk.
American Principles Project President Terry Schilling called the legislation “a tremendous victory for biological reality in Washington” and warned of political consequences for Democrats.
“It is also notable that not a single House Democrat voted for the bill,” he said. “There could be no clearer contrast between the two parties, and we can promise Democrats that they will be forced to answer for their extreme stance when voters go to the polls next year.”
NEW: IW Spokeswoman @Riley_Gaines_ joins @HARRISFAULKNER on @FaulknerFocus to respond to the passage of @RepGregSteube’ s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
— Independent Women’s Voice (@IWV) April 20, 2023
“I feel grateful for the leadership of all the co-sponsors of this bill for standing up for women.” WATCH: pic.twitter.com/oKGSH0ufXE</ a>
At a press conference after the vote, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican, said, “The left’s lunacy is robbing women and girls of equal opportunities in the name of inclusion.”
“This is another team effort where House Republicans are standing up for people who just believe in basic fairness, and today’s vote should have been a unanimous vote,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican.
Transgender rights advocates argue that student-athletes should be able to compete based on gender identity. They argue that “trans women are women” and excluding them from female sports amounts to unlawful discrimination.
Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, which prohibits discrimination in education based on sex, has been credited with vastly expanding opportunities for girls and women in sports.
The Biden administration has sought to extend those protections to sexual orientation and gender identity, but the House bill would amend Title IX by preventing “a person whose sex is male” from participating in girls’ and women’s scholastic athletics.
Earlier this month, the administration issued proposed changes to Title IX that would prohibit blanket bans on male-to-female transgender athletes in female competition while allowing schools to develop sports-specific criteria to protect safety and fairness.
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who competed against Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, thanked House Republicans for passing the measure.
“It’s almost ironic the left was once a party that embraced women and fought for women’s rights, and now we’ve seen this narrative being totally flipped,” Ms. Gaines, a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Voice, told host Harris Faulkner on Fox News Channel. “It just shows the war on women is underway, and the Democrats will pay for this in 2024.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.