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# Two states progress bills against trans athletes
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/two-states-progress-bills-against-trans-athletes/
- Published: 2021-03-22T13:00:17.000Z
- Updated: 2021-03-22T12:19:13.000Z
- Description: Alabama and Montana have progressed bills which aim to bar trans athletes from participating in school sports.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, Sport, Alabama, Center for American Progress, LGBTQ, Mississippi, Montana, Trans athletes, Trans Rights, Trans Youth, Transgender, US

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/190121-allen-south-600400.png)

**Alabama** and **Montana** have progressed bills which aim to bar trans athletes from participating in school sports, with both states passing the prospective bills along to the Senate. According to [*The News & Observer*](https://www.newsobserver.com/article250037174.html?ref=scenemag.co.uk), the Alabama House of Representatives voted 74 – 19 in favour of the bill, with Republican rep. **Scott Stadthagen** saying: *“It is unfair for biological males to compete against females in high school sports.”* No evidence was given of any trans athletes in the state, leading Democrats to question the need for the bill.

Meanwhile in [Montana](https://www.newsobserver.com/news/article250033114.html?ref=scenemag.co.uk), the Senate Judiciary Committee voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill against trans athletes, alongside one which would prohibit medical professionals from providing gender-affirming healthcare to young trans people. Both bills will now be passed onto the state Senate. Democrat senator **Diane Sands** described the proposed laws as *“hateful”* and *“heinous”,* and said she was *“ashamed”* of the state for considering them.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/trans-youth-rights-600-400.jpg)

An estimated 26 US states are currently considering bills which target young trans people. **Mississippi** is the [first state](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TkpxTjqcR2fidoRFLzfinhut7h1ZDXjmTsT5LAfTSAE/edit?ref=scenemag.co.uk) to have officially banned trans athletes from competing in 2021, raising concern among LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. Despite increased hostility towards trans youth, a [2021 study](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/report-finds-trans-inclusion-in-sport-doesnt-harm-cis-youth/) from the **Centre for American Progress** found trans inclusion in school sports poses no threat to cis students, and may actually increase overall participation among people of all gender identities. The report found anti-trans rhetoric relies on *“scare tactics, stereotypes, and unwarranted claims that transgender women have a physiological advantage over cisgender women,”* rather than actual evidence.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/trans_athlete_track_600400.jpg)