Utah – Utah’s Republican Senator Mike Lee and 13 other lawmakers have introduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which aims to “protect athletic opportunities for female athletes.”
In a Friday release, Sen. Lee says, “When transgender athletes compete against women, women’s sports are no longer women’s sports; they become unisex athletic events. This bill would protect the opportunity of girls throughout America to athletically compete against other girls.”
This comes as an executive order President Joe Biden signed that expands protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Utah’s other Republican senator, Mitt Romney, recently reacted to the legislation, siding with Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) on disagreeing with the legislation.
Pres. Biden recently signed the “Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.”
While the order focuses on extending protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, many falsely believed it would limit federal funding to schools that allow “biological male athletes access to women’s sports teams and scholarships,” according to USA Today.
The order, instead, restores guidance that all students, including transgender students, be able to learn without facing discrimination and have access to sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms.
Joining Sen. Lee on the legislation are Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
