Oregon House Republicans fail to force vote on limiting transgender girls to boys sports teams

A fight over whether transgender girls should be

allowed to participate on girls sports teams

boiled over in the Oregon House Thursday, despite the fact that a bill to limit transgender students’ participation in Oregon sports was dead on arrival at the Legislature.

Republicans attempted to force a vote on a bill that would have required Oregon

schools to segregate

sports, bathrooms and locker rooms according to students’ sex assigned at birth.

House Bill 2037

, sponsored by 15 House and Senate Republicans, was assigned to the House Education Committee. But the committee’s Democratic chair never put it on an agenda, killing it. Similar bills proposed in past Legislative sessions have also met a dead end.

In Oregon, the conversation about allowing transgender girls to compete in girls sports, a political lightning rod nationwide, has primarily focused on high school track and field. Last year, a

transgender teen

captured national attention when she won the state championship in the 200 meter race. As The Oregonian/OregonLive reported, that teen has since decided to move to Canada, where her family believes she will be safer.

Several Republicans brought female athletes to the House chamber Thursday. During the daily opportunity for House members to introduce guests, they heralded the girls’ accomplishments while making a point that they shouldn’t have to compete against athletes assigned male at birth. A few House Republicans applauded young women who

boycotted events or medal ceremonies

that included transgender athletes.

But House Republicans’ attempt to enact legislation on the matter fell flat on a resounding party-line vote: 32 Democrats voted against the effort to even consider the bill while 22 Republicans voted yes.

Republicans immediately sent out press releases criticizing Democrats for that move.

But the conversation didn’t end there. For the final 35 minutes of Thursday’s nearly three hour floor session, lawmakers from both parties vented their frustration about the morning’s antics.

Rep. Rob Nosse, a Portland Democrat, said he felt Republicans had abused a part of the daily schedule reserved for introducing guests and highlighting notable developments to instead argue a policy position. He and other Democrats argued that transgender athletes should of course be allowed to compete in youth sports and warned about the dangers of alienating young trans girls who under the bill would be denied the opportunity to use bathrooms that align with their gender identities.

“There are probably more thoughtful ways and meaningful ways that we could talk about this challenge and this topic. But what I heard this morning was not the way that I think that should be done,” Nosse said. “Mostly what I heard … I thought it was just mean.”

Republicans fired back that they haven’t been allowed to have the policy discussion in the typical channels.

“Those girls, those women, they want fairness and they want justice and that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Rep. Ed Diehl, a Scio Republican.

House Republican Leader Christine Drazan said she was trying to advocate for girls, including an intern who sat with her on the House floor, who she said are afraid to share their locker rooms with transgender peers.

“I do not appreciate the language as if the perspective of the women that came into this building today was a political stunt. They are not being heard in this building. They matter,” Drazan said.

“… How do we make this fit? How do we balance these interests? We must struggle with the both/and of our work inside of this building. And refusing to have a hearing on this relegates this conversation to this.”

Rep. Jules Walters, a West Linn Democrat, urged her colleagues to “legislate with compassion.”

Walters pointed out that many transgender staff members work at the Capitol: “When politicians speak callously on matters relating to identity, they’re speaking to their colleagues, their colleagues’ staff and their colleagues’ families,” Walters said. “This chamber is not a vacuum.”

Several Democrats pointed to the

high risk

of bullying, mental health concerns and youth suicide reported by transgender students.

“This rhetoric attacking trans youth has devastating real-life consequences. At best it alienates Oregon’s children. And at worst it leads to children taking their own lives,” Walters said.

Sami Edge covers higher education and politics for The Oregonian. You can reach her at

sedge@oregonian.com

or (503) 260-3430.

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