Minnesota House Republicans rally support for 68 votes needed to pass trans athlete bill
Republicans on Monday rallied at the Capitol in support of a bill that bans transgender athletes from competing on girls' sports teams.
House Republicans say they are proposing the bill, HF 12, to ensure sports for elementary, middle and high school female athletes are fair.
Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, is authoring the bill because she said she wants to revert amateur sports back to how they were when she played as a girl, when her teams included no openly trans athletes.
More: Happy Thyme Asian Market opens in St. Cloud
'It's called common sense. The girls in my school never had to consider the injustice of a male taking our place on the team, or the prospect of serious injury that could come while competing against a stronger, bigger male,' Scott said at the rally. 'My generation benefitted from the common sense that girls and boys should have their own teams, and I'm so thankful for that.'
House Republicans currently have a majority, 67-66, but they cannot pass bills on their own — a bill needs 68 votes to pass. Democrats say they will not vote for the proposal, so it won't pass Monday.
More: Help nominate 5 Under 40 professionals in St. Cloud area
House Republicans, emboldened by the 2024 election and the anti-trans rhetoric and executive actions coming out of the Trump administration, have moved to pare back the rights of trans Minnesotans. They've also proposed a bill to ban transgender inmates from the state's only women's prison and another making the 'castration or sterilization of minors' a felony.
Democrats, in a Capitol press conference after the Republican rally, said the bill is political theater and an effort to eliminate trans people from public life.
'Transgender students participate in sports for the same reasons as everyone else — to challenge ourselves, to improve our fitness, to be a part of a team and most of all to have fun,' said Chris Mosier, an advocate who was the first openly trans athlete to represent the U.S. in an international competition. 'Excluding trans students from participation deprives us of the opportunities available to our peers, and it sends the message that we are not worthy of full and social lives, and we will not allow that to happen here in Minnesota.'
The Republican rally, organized by the America First Policy Institute, featured conservative activist Riley Gaines, who has advocated against trans athletes since she tied for fifth place with a trans swimmer in 2022.
Gaines criticized Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic lawmakers for supporting trans athletes.
'(They) are willing to send the message and do everything in their power to say, 'Look, we will put all Minnesotans at risk because we believe boys deserve to trample on girls,'' Gains said at the rally. 'Minnesota, for too long, has turned its back on women and girls … You cannot protect the rights of girls to play fair and safe sports and also protect the boy who wants to take their place on the team.'
Gaines arrived at the rally with a security entourage of Minnesota sheriff's deputies and former Minneapolis Police Chief Bob Kroll.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Minnesota a letter last month alerting officials that the state could be sued after Democratic officials said they would not comply with Trump's executive order.
Since their election loss, Democrats have been grappling with how to support trans Americans playing sports when the majority of Americans side with Republicans on the issue. A January New York Times poll found that 94% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats believed transgender women should not compete in women's sports.
Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul and the state's first openly transgender lawmaker, said Monday that states that have passed trans sports bans have failed to provide examples of trans girls participating in youth sports, and the issue hasn't been a problem in Minnesota.
'This problem simply does not exist. It is manufactured,' Finke said. 'We've had zero problems, but we are doing this for political reasons, and when you lie about a community for long enough, people will believe it.'
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation's largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Minnesota Republicans propose bill to ban transgender athletes
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump won't allow 'mob rule in America,' White House says
The White House said Wednesday President Donald Trump would not allow "mob rule" after protests against his immigration policies spread across the United States despite a military-backed crackdown in Los Angeles. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also attacked the Democratic governor of California and mayor of Los Angeles, claiming they had "fanned the flames" of the clashes. "President Trump will never allow mob rule to prevail in America," Leavitt told a briefing at the White House, backed by television screens showing images of burning vehicles and masked rioters. "The most basic duty of government is to preserve law and order, and this administration embraces that sacred responsibility." Leavitt's comments echoed Trump's in a speech at the Fort Bragg military base on Tuesday, in which he vowed to "liberate" Los Angeles and branded the protesters "animals." Trump is in conflict with California authorities who have accused the Republican president of being "dictatorial" and seeking political gain by sending in thousands of troops to break up the protests, which have largely been peaceful. Pockets of violence -- including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling of stones at police -- have triggered a massive response from authorities, who have used tear gas and other less-lethal weapons. "Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass shamefully failed to meet their sworn obligations to their citizens," Leavitt responded, accusing Newsom of having "fanned the flames and demonized our brave ICE officers." The protests erupted last week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers carried out a series of raids in Los Angeles to back up Trump's hardline immigration policies. Trump has also called the protesters "paid insurrectionists" -- alleging that some of them had professional anti-riot equipment -- but the White House did not say who it believed was paying them. "It's a good question the president is raising, and one we are looking into, about who is funding these insurrectionists," Leavitt said when asked by AFP about the president's comments. dk/aha
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Poll reveals how Americans feel about Trump sending troops into LA over ICE protests
As President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard and the United States Marines to Los Angeles in the wake of violent protests over federal immigration raids, Americans have soured on the president's response as Angelenos continue to take to the streets. Forty-five percent of adults disapprove of Trump deploying the California National Guard, while 38% approve, according to a YouGov poll released on Tuesday. The poll also shows that 17% of Americans are not sure about the deployment. Another YouGov poll released Tuesday showed that more Americans disapprove than approve of the Pentagon sending the Marines to Los Angeles, with 47% disapproving and 34% approving. There are 19% — about 1 in 5 — who are unsure. Conducted on June 10, the YouGov poll surveyed 4,309 U.S. adults. Since protests began on Friday, June 6, Trump has repeatedly defended his actions. On Monday, he took to Truth Social to suggest that Los Angeles would be 'completely obliterated' if he did not send in the National Guard. 'If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. due to an incompetent Governor and Mayor,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom did not approve or consent to Trump's deployment of the National Guard and has attacked the president's actions since last week. When Trump and White House border czar Tom Homan floated the idea that Newsom should be arrested for not approving, Newsom dared them to arrest him. Among several elected Republican lawmakers who have criticized Newsom and the developments out of Los Angeles, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the governor should not be arrested. But he offered an outdated alternative. 'I'm not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested but he ought to be tarred and feathered, I'll say that,' Johnson told reporters. Newsom saw this and replied in an X post. 'Good to know we're skipping the arrest and going straight for the 1700s style forms of punishment,' the governor wrote Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning, Trump ordered the deployment of over 4,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Pentagon also deployed 700 U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton, with a military convoy heading from Twentynine Palms toward the City of Angels. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered an 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. curfew on Tuesday, but 25 people were arrested in connection with violating the curfew, the Times reported. Colombian fugitive living 30 years in Mass. deported after deadly secret uncovered Mayor Wu seeks transparency on ICE arrests, 'secret police tactics' Can Trump deploy the National Guard to stop protests? Here's what the law says What Gov. Newsom said after an Ala. senator called LA 'a third world country' Mass. labor groups rally against ICE arrest of California union leader Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Consumer Reports urges Congress to drop electric vehicle tax proposal
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An influential consumer organization on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers to drop a plan to impose a proposed $250 annual fee on electric cars to pay for road repairs. Consumer Reports, which also tests and rates new vehicles, noted that Republican Senator Bernie Moreno has called for boosting the proposed yearly fee to $500 for EVs and $250 for plug-in hybrids versus the tax and budget bill over the fee in the bill approved by the U.S. House in May. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The fees would mean consumers would pay anywhere from three to seven times as much as owners of similar conventional gasoline vehicles in federal gas taxes, Consumer Reports said. The new fees could hit Tesla, GM other EV owners. KEY QUOTES Chris Harto, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports said the EV fees were "punitive taxes designed to confiscate fuel savings from consumers who just want to save money for their families." CONTEXT Lawmakers in April dropped a $20 federal yearly registration fee on all vehicles starting in 2031 to fund road repairs. The U.S. House bill would end a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs for most automakers by Dec. 31, end a $4,000 used car EV tax credit, repeal vehicle emissions rules and kill an Energy Department loan program that supports the manufacture of green advanced technology vehicles. It would also phase out EV battery production tax credits in 2028. Ford said the bill's provision to eliminate EV battery production using Chinese technology threatens the automaker's projected $3 billion investment in a Marshall, Michigan, plant that is 60% complete and slated to employ 1,700 workers. On Thursday, President Donald Trump will sign three resolutions approved by lawmakers barring California's electric vehicle sales mandates and diesel engine rules, auto industry and House aides told Reuters.
