A bill prohibiting transgender girls from participating on a girls sports team passed out of an Indiana House committee Monday, after parents, transgender people and organization leaders spoke fiercely against the bill and the harm it will have on transgender youth.
House Bill 1041 authored by Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Greenwood, would require kindergarten through 12th grade schools to designate a boy’s team or sport, a girl’s team or sport or a coed team or sport and prohibit a student assigned male at birth to participate on the girls team.
The bill states that school leaders will establish and maintain a grievance procedure for any grievances filed by students or parents, and it allows for civil action to be taken.
Davis presented the bill before the House Education Committee Monday sharing that “she was one of the better players” on her high school and travel basketball teams, so she would play with a group of boys her age who did not make their respective basketball teams.
When playing the boys, Davis said she “was the worst player on that court and (she) could barely keep up” because the boys were “bigger, faster and stronger.” But, she would go play on the girls team and succeed, and she went on to play basketball in college, Davis said.
“I got better by playing with the boys, but I would not have even made the team if we would’ve had to play on the same team,” Davis said. “I know from experience that female athletes deserve fair competition and an even playing field. This bill ensures just that, a fair and equal opportunity to compete for Hoosier girls now and in the future.”
Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, asked Davis to define the threat to the integrity of Indiana sports. Davis said the threat is “not beginning on an equal playing field.”
During the hearing, 40 people testified, the majority of which were parents, transgender individuals and organization leaders opposing the bill. People who spoke against the bill stated that men and women bodies are built different, which in their minds would make women’s sports unfair.
Kristen Schiffli, whose three daughters are athletes, said she wants to “protect the fairness and the safety of women’s sports.” In her experience, Schiffli said a transgender woman swam against her daughter in college and won more races while swimming on the women’s team than when on the men’s team.
“How can anyone say there’s no physical advantage to this situation and how is this in any way, shape or form fair to our biological females,” Schiffli said.
Kit Malone, the advocacy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, said the group opposes the bill because it discriminates against transgender girls in school sports.
The Trevor Project, a national organization focused on decreasing the suicide rate in LGTBQ youth, recently released a study that found that 85% of transgender youth report that the atmosphere of constant political attack has severely impacted their mental health, Malone said.
“This bill seeks to solve a problem where one does not exist and demonizes trans children unnecessarily. Proponents of this bill have cherry-picked examples of elite athletes who are finding success in their sports while being trans. Of course people who compete occasionally win, but we have yet to see any organized set of examples that trans people are taking over sports en mass and preventing girls who are not transgender from being able to compete,” Malone said.
Ken Inskeep told the committee of the long and emotional journey his son went through talking to counselors, doctors, extended family and school officials and fellow students during his transition.
“You have no idea the many challenges and fears you have as a parent of a transgender child. He was an athletic kid, but never a star athlete or anywhere close to one. Remember, 99% of the kids who play sports in Indiana aren’t great athletes, they’re just kids who want to play sports with their friends,” Inskeep said. “All our son wanted was to be able to participate in the same activities as his friends and peers, to fit and to be accepted.”
Proposing such bills has a negative impact on transgender people and their families, Inskeep said.
“Please ... don’t make the journey of families with transgender children any harder than it already is by proposing and passing laws like this one,” Inskeep said. “Please, please, please don’t push our children even one step closer to the precipice of suicide by telling them they can’t participate in school sports like any other kid.”
The bill passed 8-4. Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, was the only Republican to vote against the bill.
Earlier in the committee hearing, Clere proposed an amendment that he said “changes the focus of the bill while still respecting the underlying intent” by requiring schools to create an athletic participation policy — which would be developed with medical and mental health experts — and removing the grievances portion of the bill. The amendment failed in a 4-6 vote.
After the final bill vote, those in the House chamber some in attendance were escorted out after chanting “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back” and shouting at the representatives.
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