The newly passed, House Bill 25 would require that public school athletic teams must be based on students' genders on their birth certificates at or near the time of birth.  The House passed the bill 76-54. The amended legislation will now head to the Senate.

SUPPORTERS

As reported by KXAN in Austin, Supporters of House Bill 25 have been pushing House leadership to get the bill to the finish line for months now.  “We’ve heard from UIL also that they’re getting more and more calls with concerns about changes in birth certificates and males competing in female sports,” Mary Elizabeth Castle with Texas Values said. Rep. Stephanie Klick, a Republican who co-authored the bill, also said it was about fairness to girls. In reference to athletic abilities and strength that a boy would have in a girl's contest.

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OPPOSITION

On the other side of the spectrum,  Democrats are pushing back, and point to zero complaints about specific athletes filed with the UIL of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Additionally, the UIL previously testified it does not have a way of tracking how many transgender athletes are currently participating in sports across Texas. How do you feel about the newly passed House Bill 25? Let us know in the Facebook comments of this post.

FOURTH TIME ON THE FLOOR

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made the bill a priority item three times this year, only to see it fail in the Texas House each time — once because it was delayed and the clock ran out, another time because of the Democratic walkout earlier this year and again when a Democrat committee chair blocked it. It passed in the house on the fourth time.

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