General Convention approves North Texas, Texas reunion as one of its final actions in Baltimore episcopalnewsservice.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from episcopalnewsservice.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fair or cruel? Texans offer two views of legislation that would target transgender girls Aria Jones and Chuck Lindell, Austin American-Statesman
Trans athletes are speaking out against bills that would ban trans kids from competing
Replay Video UP NEXT
Opponents said House Bill 4042 would target vulnerable schoolchildren to solve a nonexistent problem, codify cruelty into law, deprive transgender children of the benefits of athletics and further stigmatize students who already struggle with bullying and exclusion. This bill invites further discrimination. It does nothing to raise fairness and safety for young women and girls in sports, said Bishop Suffragan Kathryn Ryan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, told the committee that his bill also is a safety measure, designed to protect girls from biological males who can have larger bodies, denser bones and stronger muscles, particularly in contact sports. The safety aspect is common sense, Hefner said. I mean, we can look around the room and that s common sense. And it s science, and there are experts here that can speak to that. But how many girls, biological girls, that have worked their whole life to get that scholarship?
He said the bill would codify school athletics rules by basing gender determination by each student s original birth certificate though girls would continue to be allowed to compete in boys sports if a comparable girls team is not available.