Transgender athlete bill to return for 2022 Utah Legislature
May 25, 2021
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A lawmaker in Utah who proposed legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports has announced plans to reintroduce the proposal in 2022.
The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Kera Birkeland, died in a Senate committee in the final week of the Legislative session this year, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“A lot of people don’t understand how complex this issue is,” Birkeland said. “I don’t want to do anything that makes people feel like they’re unequal.”
Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith previously raised concerns over its potential impact on transgender children and the risk of losing high-profile athletic events in response to the bill, such as the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
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A lawmaker in Utah who proposed legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports has announced plans to reintroduce the proposal in 2022.
Lee has participated in protests the past year on behalf of Black mothers, she said.
She said though she doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a son at the hands of a police officer using lethal force, she has a son who died at the age of 30.
“I talked with plenty of mothers, uncles, grandfathers, whites or Blacks, different nationalities, and they’re (police) killing us,” said Lee, who is Black.
Lee said she thinks there are some good police officers, but said she thinks the ones who have used lethal force against Black people are full of hate.