Gallego: Concerns about trans athletes ‘legitimate'
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) says Democrats should be more open to hearing 'legitimate' concerns about transgender students participating in girls' and women's sports, the latest in a recent string of Democrats to break publicly with the party on an issue championed by Republicans.
'As a parent of a daughter, I think it's legitimate that parents are worried about the safety of their daughters, and I think it's legitimate for us to be worried also about fair competition,' Gallego said in an interview published Thursday with The Dispatch, a right-leaning digital magazine. 'And I think the parents of these trans children also are worried legitimately about the health and wellness of their kids.'
'There are some sports that some of these trans children should not be playing,' he continued, adding that it should be up to local entities such as school boards or athletic associations to establish eligibility requirements for trans athletes and determine sports where 'there should be a separation' based on sex at birth.
But the overarching message to transgender youth, he said, should be rooted in compassion. 'Hey, listen, we love you. We want you to be part of our community, but this is just the one place you can't play, and let's find other activities for you to be involved,' Gallego said.
The Arizona lawmaker, first elected to the House in 2014 before winning a competitive Senate seat last year, previously backed legislation in Congress supporting transgender rights.
He is a four-time co-sponsor of the Equality Act, legislation to make sexual orientation and gender identity federally protected classes, and served as a vice chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which works to advance LGBTQ rights in the House.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ advocacy group that endorsed Gallego's Senate bid, did not immediately return a request for comment on his remarks about trans athletes.
More than half the nation, including Arizona, has adopted laws that either outright ban or restrict transgender students from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity. Federal court rulings are blocking the enforcement of laws passed in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, West Virginia and New Hampshire.
Gallego is the latest of a handful of Democrats to voice opposition to allowing transgender girls' to participate in girls' sports.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) — who, like Gallego, is a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination — said he believes trans athletes competing against and alongside cisgender girls is ' deeply unfair, ' and he would be 'open' to having a conversation about limiting their participation in California.
Responding to a policy announced this week by the California Interscholastic Foundation (CIF) allowing more girls to compete in state track-and-field championship events where a transgender girl also qualified, a spokesperson for Newsom said the governor 'is encouraged by this thoughtful approach.'
'CIF's proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing,' the spokesperson, Izzy Gardon, said.
At least four other Democrats in Congress have said they oppose transgender student-athletes participating in girls' and women's sports.
Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi (N.Y.) and Seth Moulton (Mass.) spoke out against the party's broad support for trans athletes in the immediate aftermath of the November elections, which saw Republicans retake control of both chambers and the White House. GOP candidates, including President Trump, zeroed in on transgender rights while on the campaign trail.
In January, two Texas members, Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, were the only Democrats to vote with Republicans to advance legislation to ban transgender girls from competing in girls' school sports nationwide.
'I believe that there should be rules to keep our sports fair and that boys should not play in girls sports,' Gonzales said following his vote. A spokesperson for Cuellar told The Hill in January that the Texas lawmaker, who voted against the same bill in 2023, changed his vote 'based on the concerns and feedback he received from constituents in his district.'
In a New York Times/Ipsos poll published in February, 79 percent of surveyed Americans said trans athletes should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. A Pew Research Center survey released the same month found Americans have grown more supportive of policies restricting transgender rights, including ones that require athletes to compete on sports teams that match their birth sex.
An AP-NORC poll released this month found that roughly half of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of transgender issues, including 19 percent of Democrats. The president has targeted trans rights through sweeping policy changes and several executive orders, including one aimed at banning transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports.
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