MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Transgender athletes would be banned from competing in girls’ sports and using girls’ locker rooms under a pair of bills that passed the Wisconsin Assembly on Thursday.
Republicans, who control the Legislature, also approved bills to prohibit medical services to give children gender transitions and ban teachers from using a student’s preferred name or pronouns without approval from their parents.
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, has indicated that he will veto these measures, saying he’ll strike down any bill that “harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites.”
“My entire life I’ve seen gay and trans people suffering at the hands of a government that’s branded us as a danger,” said Rep. Randy Udell of Fitchburg. “The cruelest thing a government can do is to take population already at risk and make things worse.”
The bills relating to transgender people passed without a single Democrat voting in support.
Republicans argued that the bills would protect women’s rights.
“Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Mia Hamm from soccer — If it were up to my colleagues on the left, you would not know a single one of these names,” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. “Why do you ask would we not know their names? Because every one of them would’ve been beaten by a man because of biology.”
All of the bills still need to be approved by the state Senate.
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Assembly Republicans pass bans on trans girls competing in girls’ sports, gender-affirming care
