Anti-LGBT Bill Advances Through NH Senate
The House bill mandates that public K-12 schools identify athletic teams based on biological sex, while the Senate bill bans trans girls from school or state-sanctioned female teams.
On April 10, the New Hampshire Senate passed Senate Bill 375, which would ban transgender girls from playing on school or state sanctioned female sports teams. The vote came four weeks after the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted 189 - 182 to pass House Bill 1205, the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which mandates that K-12 public schools classify athletic teams based on biological sex at birth — thus prohibiting transgender students from playing on teams that align with their gender identities.
The passage of HB 1205 has caused a debate among state House members around transgender inclusion in athletics. State Rep. Robert Lynn, R-Rockingham 7, said he was concerned about the “physical safety” of female athletes in contact sports.
“Gubernatorial Democratic candidate Jon Kiper also said legislation that is ‘harmful’ to marginalized groups appears with greater frequency when people do not advocate against it.
’The average person has become apathetic,’ Kiper said. ‘They think that their vote doesn’t matter, so they don’t show up and they don’t advocate.’”
“There is a danger of [female athletes] being hurt by stronger males,” Lynn said.
Lynn argued that — while some may contend that HB 1205 contradicts the Civil Rights Act’s prohibition of discrimination based on sex — the context of this legislation is different. Unlike racial classifications, there are instances in which a “separate but equal” approach — particularly in areas like sports teams classified based on sex— may have validity, he said.
In an op-ed published on NHJournal.com, state Rep. Jess Edwards, R-Rockingham 31, also argued in favor of the bill, writing that transgender women have “a biological physical advantage” over cisgender women. These physical advantages could compromise the fairness of competition, Edwards wrote.
RELATED READING: Kiper Condemns Passage of Anti-LGBT Legislation
Gubernatorial candidate Jon Kiper issued a statement today condemning the passage of HB619, legislation he characterized as the first steps in a broader attack on the transgender community.
“This bill represents a major invasion of Granite Staters’ privacy and injects fear into the lives of everyday citizens…”