RALEIGH, NC — A proposed ban on transgender women playing women’s sports would extend to all North Carolina colleges, according to a revised version of the bill scheduled for committee Wednesday.
The House education committee will consider a revised version of the bill at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, who opposes transgender women competing in women’s sports, is expected to be in the legislature.
Fifty Republicans in the 120-member NC House are sponsors of the legislation.
“The student’s gender will be determined based solely on the student’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” according to the bill.
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The bill states that any student “who has been denied an athletic opportunity or has suffered or is likely to suffer any direct or indirect injury as a result of a violation thereof” may sue for of relief as well as damages within two years of the date the injury occurred. So are representatives or employees of schools, as well as anyone who faces retaliation for reporting a violation, according to the bill.
“I say 15, that’s too high,” said Rep. Vickie Sawyer, an Iredell County Republican and one of the main sponsors of the bill. When asked why the law is needed when the state high school association already has procedures, he said: “The number is 15. We made 15 wrong decisions.”
Current rules in North Carolina allow transgender athletes to play sports based on their gender identity, though it requires a lengthy process, including medical information.
“Laws like this send a clear message to trans people that we’re not welcome, we’re not wanted and we’re not welcome,” said Cat Salemi, a counselor who works with transgender and non-binary patients.
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, a Republican, spoke on behalf of the measure at a committee hearing Tuesday. Truitt’s daughter won a state high school indoor pole vault title in 2020.
“If we’re really going to maintain a level playing field in women’s sports, biological sex has to replace gender preference,” Truitt said. “We can respect individual gender preferences without rebuilding Title IX to inherently disadvantage women.
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