The Arizona House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at banning transgender female athletes from participating in girls’ school sports.
The bill passed along a party-line vote of 31-29 on Tuesday, and it will now be sent to the state Senate. It will apply to both public and private schools, as well as community colleges and universities.
The bill, introduced by GOP state Rep. Nancy Barto, originally required that students get a sworn doctor’s statement detailing their genetic makeup, “internal and external reproductive anatomy” and “normal endogenously produced levels of testosterone.”
However, the Bill was amended to only require a genetic test. The original proposal was called “show me your genitals law.”
“Women are being displaced in their own sport. The playing field is no longer level,” said Republican Representative Nancy Barto.
She added: “All that needs to be determined is what sex a person is and that determines which team they can play on.”
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Barto cited the biological differences between males and females from lung capacity and muscle mass to testosterone levels that she said give men “an undeniable physical advantage over women in sports.”
“That is why we have separated male and female sports. And that is why women have been so successful in achieving greatness on the field, and all the benefits that go with it,” Barto continued. “What has changed is Interscholastic policies allowing biological males identifying as females to compete on women’s teams.”
While Barto and those who voted for the bill agree that this is about keeping a level playing field, opponents argue that it fails to protect LGBTQ kids and transgender youth.
Democratic Rep. Daniel Hernandez Jr. took to Twitter after the measure passed in the House and called it “bad for Arizona.”