Rep. Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bill Thursday aimed at blocking transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports.
Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, co-sponsored the legislation with Rep. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma.
The bill — which Gabbard and Mullin are calling the “Protect Women’s Sports Act of 2020” — seeks to limit Title IX protections based on “biological sex as determined at birth by a physician.”
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
The bill — which was immediately slammed as anti-trans by activists — would take away discrimination protections from transgender and gender non-conforming athletes in any activities that receive funding from the federal government.
Charlotte Clymer, a former press secretary for rapid response at the Human Rights Campaign, called the bill a “blatantly transphobic piece of legislation aimed at trans and non-binary young people.”
If approved, H.R.8932 would bar schools from receiving federal assistance if they allow “a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.”
Sarah McBride, who made history in November when she was elected the country’s first openly transgender state senator, for Delaware, used fewer words to criticize the Democratic lawmaker: “Tulsi Gabbard: assigned Republican at birth.”
“Title IX is being weakened by some states who are misinterpreting Title IX, creating uncertainty, undue hardship and lost opportunities for female athletes,” Gabbard said in a press release.
The bill “protects Title IX’s original intent which was based on the general biological distinction between men and women athletes based on sex,” she added.
Gabbard, a former presidential candidate, had to walk back a series of anti-LGBTQ statements she’d made “many years ago” during her run in the Democratic primaries.
“Aloha. In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong, and worse, hurtful to people in the LGBTQ+ community and their loved ones,” a demure Gabbard said in a video posted on YouTube in Jan. 2019.
“I’m deeply sorry for having said and believed them,” she said, apologizing for her words “and the negative impact that they had.”
“When we deny LGBTQ+ people the basic rights that exist for every American, we are denying their humanity — denying that they are equal. We are also creating a dangerous environment that breeds discrimination and violence,” she added.
A spokesperson with the Human Rights Campaign told the Daily News that, “In her final days in Congress, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard appears to be throwing a discriminatory ‘Hail Mary’ in her attempts to be relevant again.”
Pointing at Gabbard’s “inconsistent” support of LGBTQ people throughout her public career, the HRC said that the congresswoman “failed time and again to support our community when we needed her most.”
And now, by targeting transgender children, “some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Gabbard ended up losing “all credibility as an ally.”
“Our community, especially its children, deserve acknowledgement, love and dignity and nothing less,” the HRC added.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Mullin, is one of four Native Americans currently serving in the House.
The long-time marriage equality opponent — who once said that, “Traditional marriage, between one man and one woman, is a sacred institution that must be preserved” — said in a statement that he’s “proud to lead this bill that will safeguard the integrity of women’s sports and ensure female athletes can compete fairly.”
On Thursday, Mullin was one of 106 GOP lawmakers to sign an amicus brief supporting the Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia aimed at overturning the results of the presidential election.
“The American people must have faith in our election system and deserve certainty regarding the 2020 elections,” he tweeted Friday.
