By DAVID BOYLE
A biological male student who identifies as a female has enrolled in the girls track and field competition at a local Anchorage middle school, Must Read Alaska has learned.
For the privacy of the child, MRAK is not disclosing the name of the school, but is aware that parents, coaches, and students know of the new twist in the track and field program.
The incidence stands out as an example of how girls’ sports are being slowly consumed by transgender students, almost always boys competing in girls’ divisions, rather than the reverse.
Senate Bill 140, currently being considered in the Alaska Legislature, would prevent this from happening. The Even Playing Field Act, sponsored by Sen. Shelley Hughes and co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Shower and Lora Reinbold, would limit participation in girls’ athletic events to biological females.
The bill has been tabled for now, after being subject to dozens of amendments from Democrats, who tried to gut the bill during a floor session that started Tuesday and went into Wednesday. The Democrats are attempting to filibuster the bill to prevent it from having time to pass in the Alaska House of Representatives, a strategy that appears to be working.
Democrat Sen. Bill Wielechowski tried to amend the bill by removing all of its current language and leaving it only to say school boards have the authority to set policy about gender cross-overs in sports. That amendment failed 10-10, even with Republican Sens. Natasha von Imhof and Bert Stedman joining the eight Democrats to support Wielechowski’s gutting of the bill.
Sen. Hughes says it’s not practical for school districts to set their own policies because students and schools compete against each other in tournaments from different school districts. If Anchorage allows biological males to compete in girls’ divisions, but the Mat-Su Borough does not, the teams will not be competing on level playing fields. It creates a patchwork of policies.
Sen. Tom Begich offered an amendment that would have tied federal funding to complying with the legislation. His amendment reads, “A school or a school district that receives federal funding does not have to comply with AS 14.18.150 if compliance might result in the loss of federal funding.” Every public school in Alaska receives federal funding in one form or another.
Wielechowski cited the U.S. Department of Education’s interpretation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling protecting gay, lesbian, and transgender people from discrimination in employment. The DOE stretched this ruling to include students. Wielechowski cited the US Department of Education’s interpretation of a US Supreme Court ruling protecting gay, lesbian, and transgender people from discrimination in employment. The DOE stretched this ruling to include students.
The DOE’s interpretation said that discrimination based on a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity would be a violation of Title IX. This is the law that also said that schools/districts must provide equivalent athletic opportunities for girls. But the new guidance from the federal government DOE does not carry the force of law. It is more like a suggestion.
During the debate on Wednesday, Sen. Reinbold asked to be excused for the day because she was feeling ill. At that point the bill was tabled and the Senate recessed.
The bill sponsors argue the bill is needed because biological males have superior muscle mass, strength, and lung capacity, giving them an advantage over biological females in sports competitions. Males would win in many female sports competitions, including track & field, wrestling, golf, swimming, and basketball. Because a biological male self-identifies as a female does not erase his physical advantages over biological females when it comes to sports competitions. The competition would be slanted in favor of biological males.
The Alaska Association of School Boards opposes the legislation. The AASB argues that there really is not much evidence of female sports being adversely affected by transgender athletes. The AASB’s arguments provide the talking points for those legislators opposed to SB140. Sens Begich, Wielechowski, and Jesse Kiehl used these very talking points to try to kill the bill with amendments.
The Anchorage School District has spelled out its policy for sports activities in its “Administrative Guidelines for Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students and Employees.”
The guideline states, “All students will be permitted to participate in intramural sports in a manner consistent with their gender identity consistently expressed at school. Furthermore, all students will be permitted to participate in District-sponsored interscholastic athletics in a manner consistent with their gender identity. ASAA determines its own rules for interscholastic competitions.”
The limiting factor are the words, “consistently expressed at school.” The concept of “consistently” is not defined in the document.
In 2016, the transgender athlete controversy was stirred up in Alaska after a Haines boy-to-girl transgender competed in state meets in the girls’ division. Read about it here.
Learn more about SB 140 at this link.
With only six days left in the session, it’s doubtful the bill will pass the House before adjournment, but Hughes would like to at least have everyone on record in the Senate. The bill would have to be reintroduced next year, due to the end of the two-year session next week.
The Democrats’ war on women continues
It’s not just the kids who are in a general state of confusion. The parents are insanely confused.
I am of the generation when we as women had to fight for a place in sports. It was male dominated. We finally were getting to the point of being equal. Now the men are taking girls sports away again! Why can’t the Democrats see this?
When interviewed by journalists, the women athletes invariably say something woke like, “well I fully support ‘her’ being a woman… ‘she’ is absolutely a woman…. etc, etc…. but, I just don’t think its fair that I must compete with ‘her.’
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Can you see the problem? Female athletes obsessed with being seen as woke or politically correct by their peers, authority figures, and the media tout the party line in support of transgenders even as their ox gets gored. Disgusting hypocrisy on display. Anyone who refers to a transgender as her, she, or a woman must logically agree that said “woman” must be allowed to compete with women. You can’t have it both ways.
Absolutely.
Here’s the quickest way to bring an end to this stunt. Set up a motorhome as a traveling operating room. Hire a urological surgeon. Any male who wants to be on a women’s sports team is obligated to get penectomy at no cost before he/she may compete.
Ladies, publicly funded athletics is over. The guys aced us ?? out.
And how many girl to boy transgenders are competing in male sports?
AASA’s position is silly. Just because there have not been issues yet does not mean the mess shouldn’t be dealt with now. A male that has gone through puberty will always have more bone density, bigger muscle mass and cardiovascular capacity than a female. Only the mindless could possibly ignore that. But alas, I suspect many if not most of the left are indeed mindless. Their brains have been taken over by senseless ideology that defies logic.
There is an obvious solution to his that will evolve. Just as public schools shouldn’t have a monopoly on the 3 r’s, public schools needn’t have a monopoly on youth sports.
How about…girls play with other girls….boys play with other boys….and trans play with other trans!! That’s fair!!
Granny, the problem is the hypocrisy of the girls. They maintain their wokeness and political correctness by referring to the transgenders as “her, she, woman…. etc.” As long as they do so they must also logically accept these transgenders as women for the sake of sports competition. The women athletes trying to have it both ways is the root of the problem.
I’ve never understood why there is such a thing as school sports. Kids can play whatever games they like on their own time and use whatever rules they agree upon.
I usually ignore this kinda crap. Its just so…(not allowed to say what I want, even though it’s a euphemism;kind of), but can we at least use language and not bow to the Woke by saying:
“Boys and girls,” or “Young men and women”?
This biological crap is obvious to any sane person.
Quit using “their” language. Words. Mean. Things.
Stop the Newspeak.
Gives the baddies power.
Janet, please speak more plainly and to-the-point for us to understand you clearly
Please contact your representative to let them know your stance on this.
https://www.alaskasenate.org/
I agree, biology determines the team you are on to ensure title ix and that girls have an equal chance.
Biological girls=girls team
Biological boupys=boys team
Trans=Co ed team
Molly, you are patronizing the insanity with your language.
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Please explain the definitional difference between a “boy” and a “biological boy.”
It’s galactically stupid to allow biological males to compete against females….if only obviously.
Absolutely ridiculous and infuriating. You would have to be blind not to see that transgender girls have a physical advantage. Protect girls sports and accomplishments!
‘Transgender girls’ have no advantage, as they do not exist, biologically.
Boys pretending to be girls have a distinct advantage, which is the problem, no?
The obvious solution is a simple mandate:
That all infants be neutered at birth.
That would, in a single generation, resolve all the gender confusion arguments.
Further, it would – over a relatively short period in geological time – resolve so much more:
Global Warming
Depletion of fossil fuels
Over population
Racial discrimination.
But should we be praying for that?
Rev, neutering someone does not change their gender. To do so, you must change the chromosomes in every cell of their body. Keep us posted on your efforts with that groundbreaking accomplishment.
Well, that’s another strike against the Alaska Association of School Boards. Why do they hate girls so badly that they would allow boys to compete against them. As a female athlete who benefitted from title IX as it was first being implemented, I find this BS disgusting.
You want a good example of how this has already hurt girls in Alaska, look no further than the state track and field meet where a boy (from Haines Junction?) competed in girls’ sprints and likely prevented the Homer girls’ from winning the trophy. It was 2014 or 2015, I think. Appalling that adults didn’t stand up and say, “No!”
What do you expect from weak, broken humans? They didn’t stand up for Jews in Germany in 1939 either.
You people can’t have it both ways. If a male identifies as a female they’re to be granted access to ALL female oriented sports, activities, etc… Democrats and their idiotic gender confusing BS over the last 20 years has brought us to this point. Many of you idiotic Democrats thought it’d be cool to have tranny’s with equal rights but didn’t quite think this through. YOU MADE THE BED. NOW SLEEP IN IT!!!
Well! Co-ed finally made its way into all-girl sport through the trans-mask. The boys and dads spoke up against tom-girls playingon all boy teams long ago. They were unheard. I get a sense this is at the woman and girl doing to future
generation. We underestimated our brothers savvyness to make women sports co-ed under trans-guise. Good job boys! He outsmarted, outwitted, and outdone she.
This is truly a crisis. The legislature should drop everything it’s doing and address this travesty.
Eight years ago, a small-town trans kid in Alaska actually won some track and field races! Sheesh, how much longer do we have to put up with this??
Why do we even have “women’s sports”? We don’t have “white sports” or “Jewish sports” or “left-handed peoples sports”. If we just had “sports” then things would be much simpler, and probably cheaper too, since schools would have fewer staff to pay for running sports teams.
We do have “wheelchair sports”. Is not having a Y chromosome a disability, like being in a wheelchair?
Anon, yes, indeed lacking a Y chromosome is a disability when competing in men’s sports. That is why the NBA formed the WNBA and women have their own tennis league, and the LPGA is separate from the PGA, etc, etc, etc…. Moreover, might you suffer from an intellectual disability that requires you to ask such a question?
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