Florida women’s sports protection bill in jeopardy after being shelved by Senate Republicans By Raymond Wolfe for Life Site News
Legislation was amended to match an already-passed House version that prohibits some ‘transitioning’ males to remain on women’s and girls’ teams.
Legislation banning males in women’s and girls’ sports is in danger of dying in the Florida Senate after overwhelming approval of a similar bill by House lawmakers
Senate Bill 2012, titled the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, was scheduled to be heard in the senate on Tuesday before Republicans postponed the hearing late last week. The Florida House passed a companion bill, House Bill 1475, by a 37-vote margin earlier this month.
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The bills require sports teams in Florida to be designated according to sex and explicitly bar males from competing against female students. Republican Sen. Kelli Stargel, the primary sponsor of the SB 2012, said the legislation was shelved in the Senate due to other priorities.
SB 2012 originally allowed some males “transitioning” to a feminized appearance to continue playing on women’s and girls’ teams, a provision not contained in HB 1475. Sen. Stargel amended SB 2012 last Monday, removing the provision, though she called for a hearing on the bill to be postponed when it came before the Senate Rules Committee, local news reported.
“Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex,” the amended legislation read. SB 2012 could be revived if Republican Kathleen Passidomo, chair of the rules committee, schedules a meeting to hear it before the legislative session ends Friday.
Florida has some of the most liberal athletic requirements in the nation, allowing students to compete on interscholastic teams “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity and expression, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s birth certificate.”
