WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to bar transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
The House on Tuesday passed legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports in elementary school through college, elevating a top GOP campaign issue to one of the first priorities in the new Congress.
There were 218 votes in favor of the bill, including 2 Democratic members.
If the measure becomes law, schools that allow trans girls or women to compete could lose federal education funding.
Democrats called the bill harmful to children, logistically impractical and distracting from more important matters. Some noted that the bill would apply to young kids playing for fun as well as highly competitive college athletics, saying those situations should be treated differently.
