Two bills that are against LGBTQ+ equality moved forward in their respective House committees yesterday. One bill would stop transgender women from participating in the Olympics or in sports related to the Olympics, while the other would make colleges and universities recognize student groups that discriminate against LGBTQ+ students.
The first bill, the “Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act,” aims to prohibit trans women from participating in any team recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee, including various amateur sports. The bill would prevent private organizations from making their own participation rules, and its sponsors have specifically mentioned USA Boxing’s strict new policy for trans women’s participation.The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill in a 16-15 vote. It will now go to the House floor.Sports organizations that allow trans women to participate would lose their official recognition by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The other bill, the “Equal Campus Access Act,” which is part of the “Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act,” was approved by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce with a 24-14 vote. The bill would mandate that colleges and universities receiving federal funds—almost all of them—permit religious organizations recognized by the school to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students.
The bill passing means that colleges and universities not recognizing anti-LGBTQ+ student groups would risk losing their federal funding.
House Democrats opposed the bills.
Some colleges have refused to officially recognize campus groups that exclude certain groups of students, including those that exclude LGBTQ+ students. Republicans have long considered this a type of religious discrimination, arguing that failing to recognize—and therefore not fund—such organizations denies religious students the ability to practice their religions.
If the bill passes, colleges and universities not recognizing anti-LGBTQ+ student groups would jeopardize their federal funding.
House Democrats spoke out against the bills.
“H.R. 7181 is a hate bill. Period,” said Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) in a release from the Congressional Equality Caucus. a release from the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Time and time again, Republicans hide behind promoting women and girls in sports. But these continued attacks have real consequences. The countless anti-LGBTQIA+ attacks from Republicans only stand to incite violence and ultimately remove trans people from public life. But I want trans girls and women to know: you deserve to participate and thrive in the sports you love.”
“This cruel, discriminatory legislation is nothing more than an attempt to score cheap political points at the expense of transgender Americans,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), co-chair of the Congressional Equality Cacus’s Transgender Equality Task Force. “This bill tells some of our country’s most vulnerable individuals that they do not belong and targets a group that experiences disproportionately high rates of discrimination and harassment.”
The Congressional Equality Caucus also criticized the university bill, saying that it would compel “LGBTQI+ students to fund their own discrimination on campus.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), who is the chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said that it is disrespectful to make LGBTQI+ students finance on-campus groups that are actively discriminating against them. in a statement. He believes that student organizations are a crucial part of the college experience and everyone should have the freedom to join without worrying about discrimination. He thinks it's cruel to make public universities choose between their federal funding and protecting LGBTQI+ and other minority students from discrimination.
The bills may be approved by the Republican House but they will have a tough time in the Democratic Senate.
