YOUNG DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VETO

A statement from a representative

This bill is a disservice not only to transwomen, but also to the public in general. Regulations should be considered within private organizations such as the NCAA, rather than pushing to ban transgender athletes entirely. When you ban one group from a sport, what’s stopping the government from banning another group of people? The number of transgender athletes in sports is not enough to merit an entire ban, and if nobody will bother to create a new division for trans athletes, then why are we cutting away their freedoms to compete in a sport?

This debate has to do with womens’ sports, especially with recent controversies in NCAA swimming. Frankly speaking, it’s ironic how suddenly government officials care so much about womens’ sports when it relates to their political propaganda but, just before this debate, womens’ sports were labeled as boring, pointless and noncompetitive.

I have been swimming competitively for 10 years. It is clear to me that taking away the rights of one group on the basis of biology or personal belief is an encroachment on personal and religious opinions. I can only imagine the consequences of this bill to be terrifying for young trans men and transwomen, who are often bullied, harassed and sometimes even killed for being who they are.

This bill will only strengthen anti-trans sentiments. While this bill only handles sports, I implore the supporters of this bill to think : if you are giving the government the decision to decide who can and cannot participate in parts of society, what’s stopping them from eventually taking freedoms away from you?

—Mehania Asir, senior