Mark Takano: “Again, the assertion that the underlying bill is about protecting women and girls couldn't be farther from the truth. We…”

“Again, the assertion that the underlying bill is about protecting women and girls couldn't be farther from the truth. We know that in States that have inclusive policies toward trans girls and women in sports, that the overall participation of girls and women is greater. Those States that have enacted bans on transgender participation have seen a decrease in overall participation. Why might that be? Well, we know that in Utah, that some parents of cisgender girls who have seen their girls lose in competition have questioned whether or not the winner is actually a girl because of nonconformance to perceived notions of femininity. Authorities in that State have actually subjected the winner, the girl who was a winner, to an examination of documents dating back to her kindergarten days in order for her to prove that she was indeed a female. Think about the chilling effect that this has had on other women and girls from participating in sports. The teenage years are a difficult time enough but think about what this ban has imposed. Let me tell you, Republicans are not satisfied with just banning transgender girls from competition in athletics. What this amendment will do is to accomplish full exclusion of transgender people, not only from athletic programs, but from any other auxiliary programming that a student would want to participate with their teams.…”