GOP-controlled Missouri House approves ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports
The GOP-controlled Missouri House on Monday approved a bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
The bill, filed by state Rep. Jamie Burger, a Benton Republican, would prohibit transgender girls grade six and up from competing in women’s sports in public and charter schools. It would also ban transgender women from competing in public and private college sports.
“Biological males are bigger, they are stronger, they are faster,” Burger said on the floor Monday evening. “The majority of women simply cannot compete...This is the right thing to do.”
Missouri LGBTQ advocates, doctors and Democrats have condemned the legislation, saying the bill is part of a broader attack on the transgender community. The House’s approval comes four days after Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a set of rules that transgender Missourians fear will restrict gender-affirming care for all ages, including adults.
Kale Marie Michael, a 21-year-old transgender woman and one of the founders and organizers of the KC Trans Coalition, a newly formed community advocacy group, said in a text to The Star that the legislation was “a complete breach of power on behalf of a party that claims to value freedom and parental choice.”
Kendall Martinez-Wright, a 29-year-old transgender woman from Palmyra in northeastern Missouri, said on Monday that the legislation was harmful and an attempt to police which kids can participate in sports. She pointed to the positive influence sports can have on kids, including increased confidence.
“We are very disheartened that individuals in the transgender community are having to face these discussions,” she told The Star.
Republicans have framed the sports ban as an issue of fairness to ensure athletes assigned female at birth are not at a physical disadvantage. The argument has gained traction among conservatives nationally, particularly in relation to college athletics.
“We’re just asking for a space for women to be able to compete at a fair level, even playing field that’s all,” said state Rep. Wendy Hausman, a St. Peters Republican. “Because by letting men and boys play in this arena, it takes away from what girls have earned and what girls have worked really hard to get.”
However, only a small number of transgender student-athletes compete in Missouri.
Since 2016, 13 transgender students have applied to compete on a team that matches the gender with which they identify. Of those 13 students, eight were currently in the age range to compete in 6th through 12th grade sports, a spokesperson for the Missouri State High School Activities Association told The Star in February.
Monday’s vote sets up a potential fight between Republicans in the House and Senate. Burger’s legislation, which passed 104-46, is less restrictive than legislation passed by the Missouri Senate last month and bans transgender athletes starting in sixth grade. The Senate version does not specify grade levels.
The House’s version will now head to the Missouri Senate, where it’s unclear whether senators will take up the bill after it passed its own version last month after hours of filibuster by Democrats. The House could ultimately take up the Senate’s version.
The push to restrict transgender athletes comes as Missouri Republican lawmakers also debate bills aimed at prohibiting doctors from providing transgender health care to people under 18. The health care bans, as well as Bailey’s restrictions, have alarmed transgender Missourians as some contemplate whether to rush to stock up on medications.
State Rep. Keri Ingle, a Lee’s Summit Democrat, said on the floor Monday that Republicans were legislating an issue they didn’t understand.
“You guys wonder why we hate this debate and it’s because we’re trying to convince you of the dignity of a child,” Ingle told Republicans on the floor. “It’s not all about scholarships and competitions. Most of these kids want to play sixth grade basketball and volleyball — that’s what they want. When this law passes, they won’t be able to. It’s one less space where they belong.”
