Michigan House passes anti-trans sports bills unlikely to ever get to the governor's desk
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Two bills that aim to ban transgender girls from participating in girls' interscholastic sports passed in the Michigan House of Representatives on Thursday mostly along party lines.
But that is likely where the effort will end given that Democrats control the Michigan Senate and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's steadfast support for the LGBTQ+ community.
The House voted to advance House Bill 4066 and House Bill 4469, sponsored by Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Howell) and Rep. Rylee Linting (R-Wyandotte), respectively.
HB 4066 passed 58-46, with all Republican members of the House voting in favor of the bill. HB 4469 passed 59-45, with Democratic Rep. Amos O'Neal (D-Saginaw) jumping sides to join Republicans in advancing the legislation.
The bills would collectively ban transgender girls from joining interscholastic girls' sports and would protect schools from legal liability for excluding transgender girls, as well as amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to greenlight the move in statute.
Multiple Republicans rose to support the package, including controversial Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford). He claimed there was a commonsense motive for the bill, alleging without evidence that there were 'B-team boys sports players' who 'jump over to the A-team girls team' and were disrupting the fabric of school sports in Michigan. His wife was a soccer player throughout her collegiate career, and he said she helped 'counsel' him on his vote for the bill.
While the Michigan High School Athletic Association has a policy allowing transgender girls to play sports on girls teams on a case by case basis with a waiver, association officials say very few high school students inquire about or utilize it. The MHSAA previously told lawmakers there are typically two inquiries each year out of about 180,000 athletes.
GOP lawmakers urge MHSAA to ban transgender girls from female sports teams in Michigan
Additionally, Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R-Qunicy) said that the bills mirror the conservative religious belief that men are men and women are women, basing that belief on the tenets of the Christian Bible. She also said that girls would have no way to reasonably compete if 'biological men' were allowed to be included in girls' sports, and that it was a matter of women's civil rights.
Several Democrats rose to speak against the bills, including Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), a former teacher and girls and boys cross country coach, who said these bills stand to ostracize a community that is already subject to bullying and increased risk of youth suicide.
Koleszar said he recently visited the high school he taught in, and was able to speak with a coach there. The representative was asked if the House was still considering its ban on transgender inclusion in school sports. When he told the coach that it was likely coming up for a vote this week, the coach told Koleszar that his colleagues should 'stop wasting your time and do things that actually help us.'
'I can't agree more,' Koleszar said. 'Multiple studies have shown us that the transgender community is at a dramatically increased risk of suicide. This legislation will further isolate and ostracize a group of children and adolescents that are at an already increased risk of suicide. Make no mistake, this legislation and the rhetoric that surrounds it could get somebody killed.'
Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) said the bills move the state backward, and questioned the civil rights aspect of the bills considering they aimed to dismantle the civil rights of an entire community.
'These bills tell the children of our state that some can have civil rights, but not all,' Rheingans said.
Equality Michigan decried the vote in a news release, which condemned House Republicans and highlighted the fact that O'Neal voted in favor of the ELCRA rewrite.
'Kids shouldn't have to worry about opposing team's coaches, fans, or politicians requiring them to prove their gender just because they look tall, have short hair or broad shoulders, or because they have a good serve,' said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, in a statement. 'The MHSAA has already said there are zero trans girls with waivers to compete in winter and spring sports right now. But that isn't stopping 59 Michigan Representatives from playing dangerous political games that hurt Michigan families.'
Knott said her organization was calling on the Legislature to take up commonsense legislation that supports the safety and well-being of all Michiganders – like providing funds for free school meals, protections against gun violence and tax credits for working parents – instead of subjecting young athletes to gender inspections.
'[The bills] will now head to the Michigan Senate, but they are unlikely to pass,' Knott said. 'In the meantime, EQMI will continue to advocate for the rights of transgender students and their families in our state. Full stop.'
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