April 21, 2023

The Center’s Statement

The House has voted to pass H.R. 734, the so-called, “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.” As we have seen in several state legislatures across the country, sports bans of this nature are a catalyst for the exclusion of transgender youth from daily life. These are attempts to stop trans people from being who they are and from being accepted in our society.

This deceptive, harmful, and unnecessary federal legislation is intended to amend Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and to undermine its progressive mandate to protect all students from sex discrimination. This proposed ban is meant to do one thing: discriminate against transgender and intersex women and girls by preventing them from playing school sports. It’s an obstruction to the progress we have made to promote fairness, safety, and inclusion of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex young people in sports. The Center believes that every young person should have the freedom to be who they are, and we condemn the dangerous attacks on trans youth who deserve to live their lives free from harassment and discrimination. We will continue fighting for a world that does not deny trans, non-binary, and intersex students equal access to educational opportunities but instead supports their wellbeing with equal opportunity, stronger protections against harassment, and more.

To that end, here in New York, we are working in partnership with a broad coalition of advocates to support LGBTQ+ justice through our statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy initiative, RiseOut. We are fighting to ensure that trans and gender expansive youth are supported in school with the passage of several legislative priorities, including a bill that would ensure New York’s public school districts establish anti-discrimination policies and procedures for TGNCNB students. Help us combat this national wave of discrimination against queer and trans people, take action by signing our petition, and together we can make certain that New York State remains a safe place for us all.