As the Republican Party has launched a major offensive against transgender Americans in recent months as part of a larger culture war, much of the action has taken place in statehouses across the country. But with the GOP now in control of the House of Representatives, the battle has moved to Washington, DC
On Wednesday, the U.S. House Labor and Education Committee held a hearing on two bills that perfectly encapsulate the Republican Party’s supercharged focus on targeting transgender youth.
HR 734, the The Law on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sporta bill that seeks to ban trans girls from participating in sports and HR 5, Law of parental rightslegislation that requires parents to have more of a say in what educators teach and denies LGBTQ youth the right to speak to school staff without parental notification.
Hundreds of anti-trans bills have already been introduced at the state level, many becoming law. However, these bills introduced at the federal level mark a new phase in the conservative movement to make the attack on transgender people a national project. There is still no Senate, no president to approve these attacks. But that could change in less than two years.
While Democrats came to the hearing prepared with research, statistics and anecdotal evidence from LGBTQ people, the GOP offered talking points that could have been raised by your average right-wing Facebook commenter.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) has repeatedly suggested that the Biden administration sought to “erase women,” apparently starting with allowing trans girls to play sports on teams that match their gender identity. Representative. Bob Good (R-Va.) said he was glad the hearing was open so Americans could see that Democrats “didn’t believe God created the science of sex.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have made it clear that these bills are part of the GOP’s ongoing culture war against anyone but white, straight, conservative and cisgender.
“This is just a false sense of moral panic created by a political party trying to use trans children as pawns to gain power,” said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Ca.).
These Republican bills do not respond to issues of national concern, but to the scandals they create.
Last year, the Biden administration proposed changes to title IX, legislation banning sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges, which would expand protections for LGBTQ students. However, the White House did not clarify whether this explicitly means that this change will include allowing trans athletes to participate in sports with teams that match their gender identity. The Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act is a direct reaction to this proposal, although no changes were made to Title IX.
The one-page bill states that “sex should be recognized solely on the basis of a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” However, it does not explain how schools should determine a student’s reproductive biology.
The proposal, while vague, aims to exclude transgender athletes from school sports. More simply, it is discrimination. Not only does it go against the purpose of team sports, it also arms the federal government against a small portion of the population that is already at increased risk for mental health problems, including depression and suicidal ideation.
There are only about 50 transgender athletes participating in collegiate sports. Acknowledging that number, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said, “It’s ridiculous to suggest that such a handful of athletes … deserve action by the national Congress.”
But the GOP says the bill is needed to protect women and girls in sports, even though the bill does nothing to address the real problems in women’s sports: the pay gap, the harassment. and discrimination.
The other bill being discussed at the hearing is another popular idea in conservative circles.
Popularized in places like Florida and Virginia, parents’ rights have become a basis for policies to inject conservative dogma into public schools, remove books Republican politicians don’t like, and ultimately undermine the public school system to to push charter schools. and private schools, to line their pockets.
The parental rights bill is bigger than the anti-trans bill. Democrats were concerned about provisions requiring library book lists to be disseminated to all parents.
While Republicans framed it as transparency, conservative parents from all over the country brought charges to ban the books, arguing that books about LGBTQ issues were “inappropriate” or “pornographic”. They have caused school districts to remove the books, and a federal bill like this would empower more parents.
Another provision of the bill would require school officials to disclose any private conversations they have had with students. Again, the GOP says this is an essential part of parents’ rights, but completely ignores why a transgender student might not attend school but need parental privacy, as in cases of abuse.
This pair of bills is unlikely to become law. But with the GOP now in control of the House, the party has made it clear that bills like these that target LGBTQ people and appeal to their most ardent supporters are on their agenda. Despite the myriad issues facing the American people, the GOP makes it clear: attacking trans people is their top priority.
I’m a passionate and motivated journalist with a focus on world news. My experience spans across various media outlets, including Buna Times where I serve as an author. Over the years, I have become well-versed in researching and reporting on global topics, ranging from international politics to current events.