PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania House Education Committee advanced a controversial bill that supporters say supports Title IX and girls’ sports, but opponents call discriminatory towards transgender youth.
The bill moves to the full House of Representatives after it passed the committee on a party-line vote.
It comes on the heels of University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas competing and winning at the NCAA Division 1 Swimming and Diving Championships.
Five women introduced the bill, including Rep. Martina White, R-Northeast Philadelphia.
Read the bill below.
“Ladies, women, young female athletes, we will not give up this fight. No one should be forcing biological females to compete against biological males. It is patently wrong and unfair,” White said.
Rep. Barbara Gleim, R-Cumberland County, said the bill would require any team sponsored by a public school, college, or university to have designations of male, female, and coed based on what the bill terms “biological sex.”
“I ask the media, and even those who oppose this bill, to tell the truth. Stop false characterizations of this bill. You know it does not, quote, ban people from playing sports, unquote,” said Gleim.
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“Allowing biological males to compete in women's sports reverses nearly 50 years of harder advances for women, and destroys fair competition and women's athletic opportunities.”
Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-Cumberland, York Counties, Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, and Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-Centre, Clinton Counties also co-sponsored the bill.
The House LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus calls the bill discriminatory, saying it prevents students from participating as the gender they identify with. Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny County, called it “a direct attack on transgender and gender-nonconforming youth.”
Democrats on the House Education Committee said the legislature would be overriding the authority of the PIAA and NCAA to establish eligibility requirements.
Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery County, said the committee heard from expert witnesses who told them the legislation isn’t ready.
“I'm kind of dumbfounded that we're now advancing this in spite of that,” said Nelson, whose daughter is an athlete. He added that sports give her a chance to learn to compete in a world where the playing field isn’t always level.
“I believe wholly in athletics, not because of the trophies, but because of how she learns to compete,” Nelson said. “If that makes me or her kind of woke, if that's the mindset, then I'll accept it.”
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“Let's not become the school sports eligibility standards committee, instead of the House Education Committee,” said Democratic Committee Chair Mark Longietti.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Tom Wolf, who plans to veto the bill, sent this statement:
“The governor has been clear – hate has no place in Pennsylvania, and that includes discrimination. Any legislation designed to deny opportunities is both disturbing and dangerous. Transgender individuals should know that they belong, that they are valued, and that their participation in activities is welcomed. Republicans in the general assembly have made it clear that they would rather focus on attention-seeking stunts instead of acting on Governor Wolf’s plan to provide direct fiscal relief to Pennsylvanians now. There is currently $2.2 billion in APRA funds just sitting while people grapple with rising gas prices and inflation. Pennsylvanians deserve better.”
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