State Lawmakers in Florida are poised to reject legislation that would put in place a law to protect female athletes from competing against biological men who consider themselves transgender, according to Politico.
The bill specifically would athletes must participate in K-12 and college sports according to their biological sex.
“Ding dong the witch is dead,” Democrat Sen. Janet Cruz tweeted ahead of the expected vote. ”Rip Transgender bill.”
The Politico report said:
The issue was magnified last week when the NCAA put states like Florida on notice just before the Florida House voted for the measure, warning that locations that don’t treat all student athletes with “dignity and respect” could be ineligible to host future championship games.
A top Senate panel on Tuesday put off considering the ban, a move that signals the upper chamber is reluctant to move forward with the bill. The proposal’s sponsor, powerful Senate budget chief Kelli Stargel, said her attention will be on finishing the state budget with less than two weeks left in session.
The Florida House approved its transgender sports bill, dubbed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, on April 14 by a 77-40 mostly party-line vote, with all but one Democrat opposing.
“Right now, my primary focus as Appropriations Chair is our constitutional responsibility to pass a balanced budget,” Stargel, a Republican who represents Lakeland, said in a statement to Politico. “And in a time-limited environment, I don’t know that we will have sufficient time to revisit SB 2012 this session.”
Those who support the bill said it is necessary to protect discrimination against females based on their biological sex, in this case, being forced to compete against men in sports.
The protection is guaranteed under the federal Title IX statute, which President Joe Biden expanded in his early days in office to include “gender identity.”
Transgender activists claim this kind of legislation, which has also been debated or passed into law in two dozen states, is hurtful to individuals who just want to play sports with the opposite sex they identify with.
State Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens) said he hoped the Senate bill, FL SB2012 (21R), would die in its committee Tuesday — the last scheduled meeting of 2021.
“The Florida Legislature has done enough bad policies for one session, and the last thing we need is more divisive rhetoric that will do nothing but keep all of us in our little corners, while the people of Florida look at the Legislature in disgust,” Democrat Shevrin Jones, an openly gay lawmaker a said in a statement to Politico.
“The Senate’s transgender proposal broke from the House version by allowing athletes who declare as female to participate in sports if their testosterone levels are below a certain mark, although Stargel filed an amendment that would have brought the bills closer in line,” Politico reported. “The House’s version allowed for medical professional to verify a student’s sex if gender disputes arise.”
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