The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on April 20 voted to approve legislation banning transgender girls and some non-binary individuals from girls and women’s sports, representing the latest elevation of anti-trans legislation to the highest political arena in the United States. The bill, though, is dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto it if it reaches his desk.
The so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, or H.R. 734, bars trans girls and women from playing on sports in accordance with their gender identity by amending Title IX to stipulate that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” The legislative effort is being led by Republican Greg Steube, who represents Florida’s west coast region of Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. Lawmakers voted along party lines to approve the bill 219-203.
