ABOVE: Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (Photo Credit: Office of the Governor)
Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox announced late March 3 that he would veto the state’s House Bill 11.
The legislation would ban trans youth from playing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.
The legislation prohibits “a student of the male sex from competing against another school on a team designated for female students” and defines “sex” as “biological, physical condition of being male or female, determined by an individual’s genetics and anatomy at birth.”
The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland specifies that a trans athlete would upload their birth certificate and select the sport they want to play. “If the gender on their birth certificate does not match the sport they want to play, a commission with a doctor, sports physiologist, university level athletic trainer, coach and other experts would decide whether they can play on that team.”
Last year, Birkeland sponsored HB302, a bill that would ban transgender girls from competing in Utah high school sports. Republican Governor Spencer J. Cox threatened to veto that measure which then caused that bill to not advance further in the legislative process.
Cox had made headlines in March after his statement on House Bill 302, a bill that targeted the state’s trans youth from participating in high school and collegiate sports.
“If you have not spent time with transgender youth, then I would encourage you to pause on this issue,” Cox said. “We have so many people who are in a very difficult spot right now. And we have very few if any transgender girls participating in sports.”
“These kids are, they are just trying to stay alive. You know, there is a reason none of them are playing sports,” says the Governor. “And so, I just think there is a better way, and I hope that there will be enough grace in our state to find a better solution.”
Cathryn Oakley, Human Rights Campaign state legislative director and senior counsel, applauded the governor’s move to veto it.
“As the first governor this year pledging to veto anti-trans legislation sent to his desk for signature, Gov. Cox deserves praise for standing up to those who continue to target and attack transgender youth. Transgender kids are kids, and they do not deserve to be the targets of dehumanizing attacks that invalidate their identity,” Oakley said.
A record number of anti-transgender bills were filed in 2021, largely focused on denying transgender youth the ability to receive gender-affirming care and participate in school athletics programs.
Even more anti-transgender legislation is on track to be filed in 2022. There are more than 280 anti-LGBTQ+ bills under consideration in state legislatures across the country. Of those, at least 115 directly target transgender people and approximately half of those (60 bills) would ban trans youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.
Caught in the crosshairs of anti-LGBTQ+ elected officials’ divisive political strategy are kids who are simply trying to navigate their adolescence. Transgender youth, like all youth, gain benefits from participating in school athletics: leadership opportunities, better physical and mental health outcomes, self-discipline, self-confidence, teamwork, and, of course, fun – and they shouldn’t be prevented from participating in school athletics because of who they are.
