The Maine Legislature is slated to hold a public hearing regarding a bill that would prevent transgender athletes from playing on teams and in leagues that do not match their biological sex.
Residents will be allowed to participate in the Thursday morning hearing as the legislature is debating the bill. The legislation would mandate only biological girls and women participate in female sports at an “elementary or secondary school or postsecondary institution.”
CAITLYN JENNER SAYS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES SHOULDN’T COMPETE WITH BIOLOGICAL GIRLS IN SPORTS
If a student were to be barred from playing and wants to dispute that decision, the commissioner must be provided with a signed statement by a physician saying the individual is a female based on “the student’s internal and external reproductive anatomy,” the student’s “naturally occurring level of testosterone,” or an analysis of the student’s chromosomes.
“I was asked to introduce this bill. I did not jump on the opportunity right away,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Beth O’Connor, according to WGME. “This is an uneven playing field when you put someone in there that has a greater bone density, when they have a larger capacity, with their heart, their lungs.”
A number of states passed legislation to regulate which leagues transgender athletes can participate in.
Conservatives claim that allowing transgender females to play against biological females would present them with an unfair advantage, while Democrats argue that these policies would discriminate against people who are trying to embrace their gender identity.
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There are 30 other states considering more than 50 pieces of legislation that would prevent transgender athletes from participating in leagues with players who share the same gender identity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he signed an executive order focused on “preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
