California Democrats voted down two bills on Tuesday that would have prohibited biological males from competing in female sports in K-12 schools.
The bills were shot down during a hearing in the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee.
Driving the news: Asm. Kate Sanchez (R–Trabuco Canyon) authored Assembly Bill 89, which would have put certain requirements on the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the state’s governing body for high school sports.
- Under AB 89, the CIF would have been required to prohibit a student who is a biological male from participating on a girls’ team.
- The other bill was Assembly Bill 844, authored by Asm. Bill Essayli (R–Corona).
- AB 844 would have required that students participated in sex-segregated school programs – including sports and the use of bathrooms and locker rooms – to be based on biological sex. The bill would have also applied to colleges.
- Along with the bills, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon warned Gov. Gavin Newsom that California could lose federal funds if the state continues to allow transgender athletes to compete in female sports.
How it happened: The committee heard AB 89 first, with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D–Hollister) joining in.
- “There is no epidemic of transgender kids playing basketball, soccer or any other sport for that matter,” Rivas said. Rivas then used the hearing to attack the Trump administration. “The real threat is the Trump administration taking away abortion access and dismantling programs that help women. And finally, I can’t emphasize this point enough, I’m not going to support a bill that takes rights away from a protected class of people.”
- Asm. Rick Zbur (D–Los Angeles) said the bill is reminiscent of Nazi Germany and plays on the hate and fears of the transgender community, also using the opportunity to attack President Donald Trump. “We are moving towards autocracy in this country,” Zbur said.
- The bill failed on a party line vote, with all Democrats voting against it.
- Rivas left the hearing following the vote on AB 89 and did not return for the hearing on AB 844.
- Essayli had conservative commentator Matt Walsh as one of the witnesses in support of AB 844.
- “You must keep men out of women’s sports and out of their facilities for the simple reason that they are men. Men are not women,” Walsh said. “A man who claims he is a woman is still not a woman. So why shouldn’t men play in women’s sports? Because they aren’t women. It isn’t true. We should not allow men into women’s sports for the same reason we shouldn’t go around claiming that two plus two equals seven. It’s just not true. It is a lie.”
- Walsh added that a man who identifies as a woman is “either deluded and confused, or he is a crossdressing fetishist looking to play out his fantasies in public.”
- “If you would use the force of law to compel young girls to use a changing room with a boy, you are yourselves predators,” Walsh told lawmakers. “Transgenderism is a lie. It is in fact the most deranged lie that mankind has ever invented.”
- Democrats were not swayed by Walsh’s testimony, with all of them in the committee also voting down AB 844.
Republicans respond: “AB 89 is about fairness, safety and ensuring a level playing field for female athletes,” said Sanchez said, following the vote. “Unfortunately, radical political agendas won out over what’s right for female athletes and parents. Despite this setback, I will keep fighting to save girls’ sports and ensure a level playing field.”
- Essayli said the rejection of his bill demonstrates how out of touch Assembly Democrats have become.
- “They’ve made it clear they don’t care about protecting women’s sports or student privacy,” Essayli said. “Female athletes will continue to lose opportunities, and young girls will be forced to give up their right to privacy – all because Sacramento Democrats are too afraid to stand up to the far left.”
