A Republican lawmaker in Idaho is planning to introduce a bill that would prevent trans students from joining sports teams that do not align with the sex that they were born with.
The bill is being introduced by Rep. Barbara Ehardt — a former women’s basketball player and coach.
Ehardt hopes that the legislation will help to protect women and girls from unfair advantages presented by competing with biological males.
“I am deeply invested in the continued opportunities for girls and women in sports,” Ehardt said in a statement to The Hill. She added that biological boys and men should play sports with those “whom their DNA and biology aligns.”
“We cannot physically compete against boys and men,” Ehardt said. “The inherent biological and scientifically proven advantages that boys and men possess over girls and women, regardless of hormone usage, is such that we simply cannot physically compete against them due to their inherent biological advantages.”
Ehardt spent 18 months working on the bill, which she intended to introduce in 2019, but it wasn’t ready in time.
The lawmaker stressed that the bill is not anti-LGBTQ and simply aims to protect opportunities for women and girls.
“This has nothing to do with an anti-LGBT agenda,” she said in a statement. “This is all about providing the opportunity for girls and women to continue to compete just as our counterparts, boys and men, are able to compete.”
