As more teenagers transition between genders, the issue of athletes born as males competing against female-born athletes is becoming a reality, according to Republicans in the Michigan State Senate.
Tuesday, they began the process to stop that in its tracks.
The Michigan High School Athletics Association has a case-by-case waiver process for when a transgender athlete wants to switch over to the gender they now identify with, specifically switching from male to female.
Senate Bill 218 began its journey through the Senate committee process will codify a different process. The bill makes sure that athletes can only play with the gender that they were born with.
“With these facts in hand, it’s simply impossible not to recognize the biological differences between male bodies and female bodies in individuals,” said Senator Lana Theis, a Republican from Brighton and the bill’s sponsor.
Multiple senators and witnesses argued between the impact of trans students having a competitive advantage in high school sports.
Democrats say not only does it discriminate against trans students, it is unnecessary.
“The trans students I know, don’t want to take home all the medals in sports,” said Senator Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat from Livonia, “All they want is to be accepted by their peers as they walk down the hallway. This is a solution in search of a problem.”
According to the MHSAA, only ten students have asked to change sport genders in the last five years. There are about 180,000 student athletes.
“How many girls need to lose their spot and their place on sports teams? Or their scholarship or their championship,” said Sen. Theis, “before we then decide as a state we need to move?”
Senator Erika Geiss, a Democrat from Taylor, who played on her high school’s boys soccer team, says the trans students are the ones ignored by this.
“In one breath, a few months ago, we were talking about the mental health of students and as it’s related to the pandemic,” said Sen. Geiss, “Then now, in another breath, we are completely denying the reality of the mental health of trans students.”
As we have seen across the country, the discussion got heated and the debate is expected to stay hot, well past the committee stage.
This hearing was cut short due to time but Sen. Theis said this will be taken up again in a future hearing before possibly making its way to the full Senate for a vote.
To pass, the bill would have to pass both the Senate and the House and then earn the signature of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, which is very unlikely.
© 2023 - 910 Media Group
