Tennessee bill banning transgender student athletes passes Senate, will face House vote
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Tennessee bill which would prohibit transgender children from participating in sports other than with those of their biological sex passed the Senate on Monday.
The legislation will next face a vote in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
SB22 / HB3 requires a student participating in middle school or high school sports to play based on their biological sex as indicated on their birth certificate.
RELATED: Tennessee Gov: Letting transgender athletes play 'will destroy women's sports'
Last month, Gov. Lee told reporters he believed allowing transgender girls to play on female sports teams would "destroy women's sports." The governor added he believed it would also "ruin the opportunity for girls to earn scholarships."
Lee said the legislation was in response to President Biden's executive order which protects from discrimination based on sexual orientation. But similar bills have been filed in previous years in Tennessee, long before Biden's executive order.
The governor's comments garnered backlash from many, including a local pastor who called Lee's response "transphobic and discriminatory."
ALSO READ: Pastor calls out Tennessee governor for 'echoing transphobia' in support of bill
The date of the House floor vote has not yet been set.
Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director for ACLU of Tennessee, called the bill "hateful and unconstitutional." Full statement below:
Attempting to embed discrimination against transgender girls into state law, Tennessee senators voted today to ban transgender girls from participating in school sports. This hateful and unconstitutional bill is unnecessary — the bill sponsors have admitted that they do not know of a single instance of a Tennessee student facing any harm from a transgender athlete playing sports.
Protecting women’s sports is important, but transgender girls do not threaten them. The vast majority of transgender students are not elite athletes. They just want to play sports for fun, with friends and classmates, to feel a sense of community and camaraderie, and to learn to respect and work together with coaches and teammates. We should not deny these life-changing opportunities to youth just because they are transgender. Should any transgender student be excluded because of this legislation, we are prepared to fight this bill in court.
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