TSR Politics: After hours of debate, the Arizona House of Representatives passed a new bill that if signed into law would ban transgender female athletes from participating in school sports.
The “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which was introduced by Republican Rep. Nancy Barto, would require interscholastic and intramural sports sponsored by educational institutions to explicitly designate sports as for males or females based on a student’s biological sex.
“This bill is about fairness. That’s it. What is fair on the field, the court, the track, and in the pool,” Barto told ABC News.
The bill would apply to Arizona’s K-12 schools, community college and universities’ female teams. Opponents of the bill say the bill fails to protect LGBTQ youth.
The bill was first introduced on February 3rd and it passed in the House one month later along party lines 31-29.
The bill states that if disputed, “a student may establish the student’s sex by presenting a signed physician’s statement that indicates the student’s sex” and an analysis of the student’s DNA.
Barto said men have an “undeniable physical advantage over women in sports,” citing the biological differences between males and females from lung capacity and muscle mass to testosterone levels.
“That is why we have separated male and female sports. And that is why women have been so successful in achieving greatness on the field, and all the benefits that go with it,” Barto continued. “What has changed is Interscholastic policies allowing biological males identifying as females to compete on women’s teams.”
Democratic Rep. Daniel Hernandez Jr. called the measure an “anti-trans bill” and said its passing is a “sad day” for Arizona.
“Today is sad day for Arizona. After almost 6 hours of debate an anti-trans bill was passed in the house. 2706 is not pro woman and it is bad for AZ and bad for business. Poorly written and rammed through despite 100s of businesses opposed. #TransGirlsAreGirls” he tweeted.
Despite strong opposition from House Democrats, as well as the Arizona Diamondbacks, and businesses PayPal and Uber, the measure will now make its way to the Senate.
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