A Texas Senate committee has voted unanimously to advance a pair of bills aimed at preventing males from competing in girls’ sports.
Senate Bills 2 and 32, were passed out of the Health and Human Services Committee by a vote of 6-0.
According to the Hill:
Senate Bill 2 prevents public schools and higher education institutions from allowing a student to compete in a sport that is ‘designated for the biological sex opposite to the student ’s biological sex’ as stated on their birth certificate or other government record, according to its text.
Senate Bill 32 would institute a similar ban, but it only applies to public schools.
Both bills were passed with only Republicans voting. Though passed out of the committee, the fate of the two bills remains unknown due to the fact that Texas Democrats have absconded to Washington, DC in an attempt to derail the current legislative session and block the state’s voter reform efforts. Earlier this summer, many of the same Democrats who have taken flight from their legislative duties were responsible for derailing another trans sports ban, Senate Bill 29, by weighing the legislation down with numerous amendments.
If Senate Bills 2 and 32 were to be passed, Texas would become the ninth state to pass laws banning trans athletes from competing in athletics based on “gender identity,” as opposed to their actual gender.