MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would require athletes in public schools to compete in athletic competitions based on the gender on their birth certificate.
Sponsored by Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle), HB 391 passed the House on a vote of 74-19 with two abstentions. All Republican members voted in favor of the legislation, and Rep. Dexter Grimsley (D-Newville) joined the majority in supporting the bill.
Stadthagen said on the floor that his goal was to create a “level playing field” for all athletes. He noted that men who identify as females have won numerous sporting events in recent years.
Multiple members of the Democratic Party spoke against the bill on the floor before it ultimately passed. Some raised concern that passing the bill would cause psychological damage to transgender citizens.
Stadthagen responded by asking members to put themselves in the shoes of athletes born female. He warned that without his bill, young women risk “all their dreams and scholarships yanked before their eyes because a male took a spot from them.”
Others, including Reps. Laura Hall (D-Huntsville) and Neil Rafferty (D-Birmingham) pointed that some national events and tournaments generally oppose legislation along the lines of HB 191, and as such, may be less likely to locate events in Alabama, hurting the economy.
Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) spoke briefly on the floor and relayed that the Alabama High School Athletic Association supports Stadthagen’s bill.
Scott McCoy, an employee at the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center who focuses on LGBTQ issues, criticized the bill’s passage on Thursday. He claimed the House “chose to force their own irrational fears and transphobic sentiments on to transgender student athletes by passing House Bill 391, which will prevent students from participating in any sport that aligns with their gender identities.”
According to McCoy, “Targeting transgender youth who wish to participate in sports is just one more cruel attempt to erase their existence.”
Alison Heather, a physiologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, told Wired Magazine that in addition to higher levels of testosterone, individuals born male enjoy competitive advantages over individuals born female due to their “their bigger bone structure, greater lung capacity, and larger heart size.”
The bill now heads to the Alabama Senate for further consideration.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
