A Texas Senate committee reconvened once again for a bill that will not allow transgender student-athletes to participate in sports concerning the gender they identify with.
The bill got “killed” during the regular session as the Democrats worked on tactics so that the legislation does not reach the deadline for it to be signed into law.
The committee is called Health and Human Services and it met Monday morning to talk about the possibility of reviving the legislation. It is unclear yet what are the revisions it is planning.
As for the previous bill, it received outrage and backlash from advocates and the Democrats in the state. Advocates claim that the legislation is unnecessary and further attacks transgender people, who already suffer from bullying and isolation.
During the Monday meeting, transgender activists were present and they shared what they thought of the bill.
One of the people who negate the bill is Molly Wills Carnes, the mother of a transgender girl. She said of the bill that it forces children to “either live truthfully or to live as an imposter, that last option having grave consequences for their mental health.”
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) likewise reacted negatively to the bill. In April of this year, the NCAA Board of Governors released a statement saying that they will refuse to have events in states that discriminate against transgender student-athletes.
Also, many major corporations threatened that they would withdraw from their investments and businesses in Texas if the lawmakers sign the bill into law.
The bill will require Texas student-athletes to play on the sports teams that correspond to their gender at birth. The main goal of the bill is to ensure fairness in sports, mainly concerning girls.
One of the supporters, Beth Stelzer of Save Women’s Sports, said: “Sponsorships, scholarships and jobs are at risk,” adding that transgender students could take those opportunities from cisgender girls.
