Anti-trans athelete bill introduced in Maryland
MARYLAND- Maryland Delegate Kathy Szeliga and Senator Mary Beth Carozza Wednesday unveiled their Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act.
The legislation would require athletes to submit a form where a doctor confirmed their gender assigned at birth, and require them to compete in the category of that gender, regardless of gender expression or transition. Trans allies are calling it an anti-trans athlete bill.
Delegate Szeliga was joined by a group of parents, and a girl’s volleyball team when she announced the bill. She said during the announcement that she believes the bill will protect the rights of all female athletes across the state.
“I’m proud to tell you this will impact all these girls you see standing here it will protect every girl athlete,” she said. “Boys are faster, stronger. They jump higher, They have more muscle, they have bigger cardiovascular systems, bigger bones, and testosterone, among other things, and it’s not just protecting girls’ athletic opportunities, but protecting them from injuries.”
Senator Carozza believes she could have lost her athletic college scholarship as the first singles women’s tennis player at Stephen Decatur High School, had she had to compete against a trans athlete and that the bill is personal for her.
However, lawmakers were unable to name a single instance of a trans-female athlete dominating against cisgender female athletes in the state of Maryland.
“We’re not seeing trans girls dominating in sports in Maryland,” said Trans Maryland Director Lee Blinder, who testified in opposition to the bill in the House Ways and Means Committee. “It’s just simply not happening. So, this bill is an attempt to create a situation that is not evidenced in reality,”
Blinder tells 47 ABC WMDT the idea that any transgender female athlete is inherently better than any athlete, is one that harms women. They added that physical inequality is already present in sports.
“We know sports are not fair to begin with, and so this is just another example of how people are attempting to make sports even more unfair and to box people out who really should be participating,” Blinder said. “People come in all different sizes and body shapes and types and ability levels.”
Blinder says this kind of scrutiny this bill puts on trans people is harmful to them, but can also be dangerous to all female athletes.
“My message for female athletes is, if we adopt these policies, then there’s extra scrutiny, and one day that person being scrutinized can be you,” Blinder sai. “Maybe you have short hair, maybe you like to wear shorts all the time, wear dresses, wear skirts, because, at any point, not just trans girls, not just intersex girls, but any girl could be deemed not girl enough,” Blinder said.
