RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) – A bill to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports received concurrence from the North Carolina House on Thursday morning and was sent to Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature.
The vote was 63-42 — with Rep. Mike Wray (D-Halifax) again siding with Republicans — to agree with the Senate’s changes to the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” HB 574. The Senate had scrapped its passed bill in favor of adding slight amendments to the House’s version of what were mirrored bills in early April. SB 631 was transformed into something related that bans medical treatment for transgender minors.
HB 574 prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports from middle school through college. It does not prohibit transgender athletes from competing on men’s and boys’ teams.
Cooper would be expected to veto HB 574, but the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly has been perfect so far in overriding his vetoes, including four by the Senate this week.
The concurrence did not pass without spirited debate by Democrats, who argued the bill unfairly singles out transgender athletes and is “cruel” to the LGBTQ community.
Such cases have been evaluated as they emerged under the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s rules. Each formal application to compete is reviewed by a local Gender Identity Committee. That’s similar to the policies administered by the NCAA – which mirrors the International Olympic Committee’s long-established policy – and the NAIA. The NJCAA has eligibility rules that are less clear about transgender athletes.
“There are 180,000 students who compete in the space this bill addresses,” Rep. Maria Cervania (D-Wake) said. “There is an established process to evaluate athletes who want to compete.
“Only 16 were reviewed, at this time, and only two have passed. Only one currently is competing, making this potentially a law for one person in a 10-million-population state.”
House Bill 574 by Steven Doyle on Scribd
Said Rep. Vernetta Alston (D-Durham) said the bill is “unnecessary. I think it will be found to violate Title IX. This bill directly impacts a couple of young people in our state now. They are going to feel targeted. Others are going to feel more desperate and alone.”
Rep. John Autry (D-Mecklenburg) speaks passionately about LGBTQ-related legislation because his granddaughter, Savannah, is transgender. He was emotional again. “I would just ask, stop it. Just stop it,” he said. “This is the time to break our attacks on the LGBTQ community. Just stop it.”
Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) expressed her concern that the ban would apply to fifth-graders. “Many of you understand the benefits of team sports. … We’re going to deny that to fifth-graders and sixth-graders because of something they no more can control than eye color or height. This is cruel.
“Nobody is winning a gold medal in the fifth grade. Nobody is getting a Nike contract in fifth grade. … We shouldn’t do it.”
Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson), who made the motion to concur, only noted that the amendment “only added wrestling,” which was not quite accurate. She did not advocate otherwise. No one else did, either.
In introducing the bill before the Senate’s vote, Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Cherokee) pointed out that HB 574 had been amended to exclude intramurals and reiterated it “allows girls to play boys sports. This is a very commonsense bill. It’s not against anybody. It simply prevents biological males from playing girls’ sports. That’s what this bill does.”
Equality North Carolina Executive Director Kendra R. Johnson issued a statement about the bill’s passage:
“This legislation is harsh and discriminatory. As Representative Cervania pointed out in her remarks before the body, this bill could apply to as few as one student in our public school system. We don’t need bills designed to bully a tiny handful of young North Carolinians. Our legislature should focus on protecting all of our communities, not holding surprise votes on unfair legislation.”
