Louisiana HB 542: Provides for the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act relative to a schools’ ability to offer opportunities to each student to participate in team sporting events on an equal basis would require school sports to only allow 3 categories of sports teams, one for “biological males”, one for “biological females”, and a coed team. This is a direct attempt to discriminate against the trans community. While this bill would lead to systemic discrimination against the trans community in sports, it also validates transphobia by giving schools legal protection from any organization that tries to take adverse action. It also offers legal protection to anyone who reports a violation of HB 542 and offers cause of action pursuit for anyone who is “harmed” by this violation.
HB 542 states that, “Requiring a biological woman to compete against a biological male on a team that is designated as a “female”, “girls'”, or “women’s” team is inherently discriminatory to biological women and is a cognizable harm to biological women under this Chapter.” These legislatures are using the guise of equal rights for women in order to discriminate against the trans community. Part of the “proof” for why trans women participate in the girls/women’s teams is the pronounced gender gap in sports, but this gender gap is being taken at face value. Part of the gender gap is based on social opportunities. Data that shows 87% of the NCAA offer disproportionately higher opportunities to male athletes. If the real concern was gender equality in sports, there are plenty of other areas for bills to address that don’t discriminate against an entire population of people.
Write to your representatives today and tell them not to support HB 542.