ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – Local transgender advocates are cautiously optimistic about a Biden Administration push to make it harder to ban transgender athletes from competing in sports, as bills to the contrary make their way through the Missouri legislature.
The Biden Administration announced a rule change to Title IX, the landmark federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education, Thursday. The change would stop so-called ‘blanket bans,’ in favor of case-by-case approaches.
SB 39 would do just that, by preventing Missouri athletes from competing in sports contrary to their biological sex assigned at birth. The bill was passed by the Missouri Senate in March after a filibuster by Democrats, and it is currently scheduled for a committee hearing in the House next week. It is one of two bills, along with SB 49, that opponents have termed ‘anti-trans.’
“It is the public policy of this state to further the governmental interest of ensuring that sufficient opportunities for athletics remain available for females to remedy past discrimination on the basis of sex,” the bill’s perfected text says.
In theory, the new federal rule change would be in conflict with the state bill. Similar legislation has been passed in 20 other states, including several that border Missouri, according to an analysis by think tank ‘Movement Advancement Participation.’
Robert Fischer with PROMO Missouri, an organization advocating for LGBTQ equality, says the rule change does represent progress but says it could have unintended consequences in Missouri.
“For instance, this may accelerate things on a state level, or [it could] make legislators second guess whether or not they should push this forward,” Fischer said. “We don’t know those outcomes yet.”
West Virginia’s attorney general has already vowed to challenge the rule change if it goes through, setting up future legal battles over the rule’s legality.
“We don’t know how this is specifically going to impact state legislation, especially here in Missouri,” Fischer said.
Paul Smith is Georgetown University Law School Professor from Practice. He says the rule changes are a middle ground, that likely won’t be perfect for either side.
“I think you can see this rule as an effort to cool things off a little bit,” Smith said. “It doesn’t take a sharply pro-transgender position or a sharply anti-transgender position. It tries to be reasonable and say everything depends on context.”
The two Missouri Senate Bills 39 and 49 are both scheduled to go before a House Committee next Tuesday, April 11. PROMO Missouri is already calling for opponents to show up in droves in Jefferson City to make their voices heard.
Copyright 2023 KMOV. All rights reserved.
Biden admin push to restrict transgender sports bans at odds with bill going through Missouri legislature
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