Texas Governor Signs Women’s Sports Bill Into Law
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 25 into law, which keeps school sports single-sex. The bill prevents trans-identified students from using self-ID to gain access to sports teams of the opposite sex; under this bill, a student's sex is defined as the sex that is listed on his or her official birth certificate.
The bill states that, “For purposes of this section, a statement of a student’s biological sex on the student’s official birth certificate is considered to have correctly stated the student’s biological sex only if the statement was: (1) entered at or near the time of the student’s birth; or (2) modified to correct any type of scrivener or clerical error in the student’s biological sex.”
This victory comes on the fourth attempt to pass such a bill this year. During its regular legislative session earlier this year and each of its three special sessions over the past few months, a similar bill was introduced, but it never managed to pass the House until this month.
Each time there was an opportunity for testimony on one of these bills, women’s rights advocates such as Beth Stelzer of Save Women’s Sports passionately spoke on behalf of girl athletes. During the first special session, Amy Sousa waited for hours to finally deliver her powerful testimony at 3:40 in the morning:
“I want to tell you that I’m also really disturbed by the usage of the term ‘inclusivity’ by progressives. It is being used as an instrument to erode girls’ boundaries and their right to consent to boys in their intimate spaces and in their sports. The value of inclusivity is not benign. It comes at the direct expense of boundaries. Girls deserve to have boundaries around their bodies.”
HB 25 has its flaws, however. Despite advocates’ best efforts, the bill does not include collegiate sports. The inclusion of collegiate sports in bills like these has been a contentious issue across the country. The NCAA has put pressure on states to not pass laws making collegiate sports single-sex. Scheduled to host the 2023 and 2025 men’s Final Four and the 2023 women’s Final Four, Texas is a big player in NCAA events. If the bill had included collegiate sports, it would have been a big blow to the NCAA’s promotion of mixed-sex sports.
Texas is the ninth state to enact a law protecting women’s sports. These bills, although slated by gender identity activists as extreme right-wing propaganda, have almost always had support from Democratic lawmakers and women from all political parties, including radical feminists. In Texas, two Democrats--Ryan Guillen and Eddie Lucio--voted to pass HB 25.
WoLF’s Executive Director, Dr. Mahri Irvine, expressed her support for laws protecting single-sex sports. “Mixed-sex sports can harm girls and women in a variety of ways,” Dr. Irvine said. “First, there is the obvious concern that males might sexually objectify, harass, or assault their female counterparts in mixed-sex locker rooms and bathrooms. Mixed-sex sports can also harm women and girls economically and throughout the duration of their careers. This harm occurs when males win mixed-sex competitions, therefore displacing women and girls who would have been eligible for college scholarships, prestige, and career advancement. Female athletes lose out on important economic and educational opportunities when they are forced to compete against male athletes; students’ decisions to attend certain colleges are often based upon their abilities to win scholarships. Just think of all the female high school students who will miss out on scholarships and higher education opportunities because they are displaced by males who ‘identify as females.’ Bills like HB 25 help protect girls’ career opportunities, as well as their safety in locker rooms.”
With single-sex sports bills either introduced or enacted in nearly half the country, we are confident that this is only the beginning of legislation that protects women’s and girls’ spaces. Click the button below to find out if there is legislation pending in your state and write your lawmakers today!
