INDIANAPOLIS — A bill that would make it illegal for transgender girls to participate on sports teams designated for girls at public schools in Indiana is moving forward.
The bill, HB 1041, will move to the Senate after it passed the House with a 66-30 vote on Thursday.
HB 1041 would prohibit transgender girls from participating on sports teams at K-12 public schools designated for girls. The bill would also establish a civil action for violations and schools wouldn't be subject to civil, administrative, disciplinary or criminal liability for complying with it.
MORE | Rally at Statehouse planned to oppose HB 1041, bill would restrict trans girls from girls' teams | ACLU says proposed Indiana bill would ban transgender students from school sports
Supporters of the bill, including its author, State Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Greenwood, want the bill to protect fair competition for females.
"I want to make sure that all the opportunities are provided for our young females and we protect the fair competition for them so they have all those possibilities," Davis said.
People who opposed HB 1041 spoke during the bill's hearing in the House Education Committee about the mental health toll transgender kids face when they're singled out by legislation. Many of them were parents who fear their kids will not be able to live a normal life if bills like HB 1041 become law.
"The Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes this legislation because it would harm children in Indiana and further marginalize transgender youth who are already at higher risk of depression and serious mental health issues," Dr. Lauren Bell said. "Research has shown that refusing to acknowledge an individual's gender identity leads to psychological and physical harm. Gender identity is a well-established concept in medicine which refers to a person's internal sense of being male or female."
-
IMPD investigating after person found dead on Indy's east side
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the 1500 block of North Arlington Avenue on reports of a person shot just after 8:30 p.m.
Indiana’s oldest Black American Legion post to close, members trying to save it
The flags that symbolize service no longer fly in front of Tillman H. Harpole American Legion Post 249, whose charter dates back to the late 1930s.
High school construction students build homes for veterans
Trade school students spent the week building several homes at the Project 57 development near Michigan Street and Holt Road. It will become a neighborhood for homeless veterans.
Indianapolis Ten-Point Coalition working to prevent violence before it starts
The group was patrolling the BP Gas Station at 29th and MLK Thursday night when group members noticed two young men with guns walk into the gas station.
