TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A bill recently introduced in the Florida Legislature by a Republican lawmaker looking to ban transgender girls from participating in women's sports was approved by a House panel Wednesday.
HB 1475, filed late last month by State Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, also would require any dispute of the student's biological sex to be resolved by a health care provider by examinating "the student's reproductive anatomy."
Florida's bill to restrict transgender women in sports is not the only one filed in the state or across the country. The New York Times reports, citing the ACLU, that at least 25 states have had similar bills introduced during this year's legislative sessions.
In February, Republican Rep. Anthony Sabatini also filed legislation that would bar transgender girls from competing in girl's sports in school and make it illegal for doctors to perform "transgender surgery," widely known as gender affirmation surgery, on children.
Freedom for All Americans, an organization that champions protections for LGBTQ people and is tracking the status of similar bills, says some bills "will almost certainly attempt to single out and target LGBTQ people for unfair and unequal treatment."
Tuck's bill was listed as adopted without objection on March 17 after it was approved by a 13-4 vote in the Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee.
State Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, similarly introduced SB 2012. It would allow transgender girls to participate in girls' sports, but they would need to meet the same testosterone guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee. According to the Florida Senate's website, that bill has not moved since March 10 when it was introduced.
Neither Stargel nor Tuck could cite an instance when interviewed by the Miami Herald where a transgender athlete unfairly impacted scholastic athletic competition in Florida.
"I don’t think we should wait until there is a problem to have a policy," Tuck told the newspaper.
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