Anne Arundel Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today voted against the “Politics Over Participation” Act (H.R. 734), an attack on transgender and other LGBTQ+ youth in sports.

“Trans students deserve equal access to all school communities and activities, including sports,” said Congressman Sarbanes. “This legislation restricts the lives and opportunities of thousands of trans children and ignores the real issues impacting girls’ and women’s sports, including sexual harassment and assault, unequal resources and significant pay disparities.”

He added, “We must continue standing by the LGBTQ+ community and fighting this coordinated attack, which only exacerbates the mental health and well-being crisis facing young Americans while allowing the pressing issues that actually impact students and schools across the country to persist.”

H.R. 734 amends existing law to make it a violation of Title IX for recipients of federal financial assistance to allow transgender girls or women to participate in girls’ and women’s athletic programs. This bill would effectively ban all trans girls and women and limit non-binary and intersex students from participating on sports teams. Rather than protecting the safety and privacy of girls and women, this legislation opens the door to invasive exams of student athletes.

The “Politics Over Participation” Act is a top priority for Republicans in the 118th Congress. In stark contrast, House Democrats last year passed into law the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404), a major step forward in LGBTQ+ rights that enshrined same-sex marriage rights across the country, and voted to advance the Equality Act (H.R. 5) to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans across several key areas, including education, employment, housing, public spaces and federal financial services.

Original source can be found here.