There is currently a House bill floating around Florida right now. The bill was brought on by conservatives seeking to remove transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports. House Bill 1475 was voted to pass last week. However, Senate lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement on how to advance the bill. Florida's 60-day legislative session concludes on April 30. Although, it appears to be dead, that isn't the case just yet.
And there is much to be frightened by in this bill.
This bill is specifically targeting students who participate in scholastic sports. The bill would require all students to play in a manner consistent with their sex assigned at birth. In the weeks following the bill's introduction, additions continued to be made. One such addition was claiming students could participate if they proved their testosterone levels were below a certain level.
However, the one addition that caught a lot of attention was the way in which complaints about a student's sex was to be resolved. According to the bill, such claims can be resolved one of three ways during a health examination. Either perform a DNA test, a testosterone test, or have a medical professional examine the student's "reproductive anatomy."
The latter option is what sent many people, including transgender rights activists, through the roof.
Putting children through such invasive acts is a horrible violation. I can hear the opposition's argument being that since such "procedures" are being done by a doctor, it's okay. However, it doesn't matter who is the one doing the "checks." It still leaves children vulnerable to potential harassment and assault. It can also trigger their gender dysphoria and lead to trauma. Imagine how these children will feel when they grow up and realize this was all due to a transphobic law that treated them as second class citizens?
Not to mention that it singles out transgender or gender nonconforming children. This will cause them to be even bigger targets of bullying, by both their coaches and fellow students. Opponents to transgender rights will view the change in schools as positive, but it's not even close. It will only cause more depression in trans kids which will most likely lead to suicide. Have we learned nothing from the anti-bullying campaigns like "It Gets Better" from the early 2010s?
Those who are in favor of such laws are most likely the same ones who are against transgender people using the bathroom of their choice. They will say that trans women using a women's restroom will lead to harassment and assault. Many of them also believe that children are unable to know if they're transgender. They equate loving parents who support their child's identity to child abuse.
Yet, they're openly advocating for a policy that would do that very same thing.
What we have here are people so blind to their bigotry they can't even see what they're doing. They are furthering and enabling child abuse, all under the guise of what they think is the right thing. People must protest this and speak up. We can't allow this to become the new normal for children. They deserve more. They deserve better.
Let's hope this bill doesn't succeed on April 30. If it does, we need to step up and fight for trans kids everywhere, who will no doubt be severely mistreated under this law.