Congressman Andy Harris touts the ‘save women’s sports’ bill, Trans Maryland responds
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just a day after the U.S. House voted in favor of a bill that would prohibit trans women and girls from competing in female sports, Congressman Andy Harris is praising the passage of the bill and touting his support of the legislation.
The Protection of Women and Girls Sports Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 219 to 203 on Thursday.
Congressman Harris voted in favor of the legislation that would prohibit transgender women and girls from competing in female athletic programs. He says the biological differences put female athletes at an unfair disadvantage.
“It’s just unfair,” Congressman Harris said. “The bottom line is, it’s unfair for people who, again, are biological males who have the muscle mass, the size of their heart, as a physician, I’m telling ya there’s a difference, it’s a genetic difference, and it’s just unfair.”
Congressman Harris says the legislation was warranted as the issue has rose to a fever-pitch over the course of the past few years.
“In the last few years you’ve had biological males, who again, claim they’re transgender females, that’s what they’re called, and they attempt to participate in girls and women’s sports,” Congressman Harris said. “It’s just not fair because men and women are different.”
When it comes to transgender women and girls competing in sports, Congressman Harris tells us he would have no problem with that if they were in their own category.
“If you want to create a third category, or a fourth category, that’s fine, but to take biological males and have them participate in women’s and girls sports is unfair to those women and girls,” Congressman Harris stated. “We’ve spent decades building up those women’s sports teams and, to do this now, is just, again, terribly unfair.”
47 ABC News reached out to Trans Maryland, an advocacy organization dedicated to Maryland’s trans community, who responded to the Congressman’s comments.
Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder says despite the efforts federally, there is state guidance that protects transgender students on this issue.
“I really want all of the transgender community members, especially on the Eastern Shore, across the state, and across the country, to remember that we are inherently existing in our society, that we deserve and are protected, specifically in Maryland, in sports,” Blinder explained. “The MPSSAA guidance is very clear that trans-people are to be a part of sports, so we want to see trans-people be able to enjoy sports just the same as cis-gender young people do.”
The guidance Blinder referred to falls under the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association which states that “each school system should develop and apply criteria for students to participate on interscholastic athletic teams consistent with their gender identity.”
The guidance prohibits school systems from discriminating against transgender students when it comes to participating in the sports that coincide with their gender identities.
“Participation should provide for the opportunity for all students to participate in interscholastic athletics in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records,” the guidance reads. “All student-athletes should have equal opportunity to participate in sports.”
At the same time, there are specifications spelled out in the guidance that aim to also protect the “integrity of women’s sports.”
“The integrity of women’s sports should be preserved,” the guidance reads. “Policies governing the participation in sports should be fair in light of the tremendous variation among individuals in strength, size, musculature, and ability.”
While the legislation has passed the U.S. House, which is Republican-controlled, Congressman Harris says the bill likely won’t fair as well in the Democratically-controlled U.S. Senate.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that Mr. Schumer, the Majority Leader in the Senate, is even going to take the bill up,” Congressman Harris said. “I think he’s not going to, which is too bad, because again that’s against the wishes of a majority of Americans.”
Moving forward, Congressman Harris said lawmakers will still be able to limit the spending on institutions who allow for transgender women and girls to play on the sports teams that coincide with the gender identity in the appropriations bills.
