HB 972 Passes PA House And Now Moves On To The Senate

by Rex Apps

Tuesday, April 12, the PA House passed HB 972, also known as the "Protect Women In Sports Act," by a vote of 115 - 84. The vote was largely along party lines, with one Republican voting against the bill and four Democrats voting for the bill.

House Bill 972 would restrict trans girls and women from playing scholastic and collegiate sports. The bill calls for express designations of male, female, and coed or mixed applied to sports and teams to separate athletes by biological sex.

There is no express language in the reverse that would prevent cisgender females and transgender males from competing against cisgender females and transgender male athletes. Cisgender refers to a person whose gender identity and sex assigned at birth are the same.

The bill is seen as an effort to fuel a culture war. At least fourteen other states have recently passed or are considering similar legislation. It now moves on to the PA Senate for consideration. Gov. Tom Wolf has pledged to veto it if and when it gets to his desk.