Meeting Public Comments

Chris Morse []

It is appalling that this transphobic bill has once again been proposed and considered by this body. There are a number of arguments that could be made against this bill including that it is discriminatory, unwelcoming, and downright hateful. To say this bill is needed to protect girls fails to properly acknowledge that trans girls are girls and that trans women are women.Additionally, this legislation does nothing to prepare our children for the future. More than 1 and 1/2 million Americans identify as trans. By teaching children that trans individuals should be treated differently than cisgendered individuals we are telling our children. That discrimination is okay. Meanwhile, the rest of the society is embracing diversity and inclusion. In the fall of 2021, The West Des Moines Soccer Club was home to what I believe was the first gender expansive team in Central Iowa. On this team there were no incidents even remotely close to the horrors that this bills proponents would have you imagine could happen. Lastly, this legislation would be a major step backwards for our current protections for gender nonconforming individuals. Please got no on this bill and do not allow it to move any further in the process.

Martha Shaw []

I strongly OPPOSE HF 2309. This bill is based on misinformation and not facts. This country has a long history of excluding people from sports based on the premise that it will ruin them. We all know the history of Black and Brown athletes being banned from professional sports. Did you watch the Super Bowl yesterday? Seventy percent of NFL players are Black or Brown. Woman were banned from sports programs. Gay players have been excluded. Has nothing been learned from that history? The number of trans girls and women is extremely small, and they come to their sports with all types of skill levels, body types, etc. There is no scientific evidence supporting the myth that they pose a threat to cisgender females. Please read from Scientific American: Trans Girls Belong on Girls Sports Teams https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/transgirlsbelongongirlssportsteams/This bill will hurt children, and it will hurt Iowa.

Jesica Sidler []

I am opposed to HF 2309 because trans girls are girls. They are not boys and they are not an "other" that should be excluded. Iowa trans girls have been participating in high school sports for the past 15 years, this bill is discriminatory and harmful. Trans girls make up a tiny percentage of the population, 2% of high school students identify as transgender, according to the CDC. That means that approximately 1% of any given school would be comprised of transgender girls, who may or may not choose to participate in sports. Athletes come to their sports with a variety of talent, body sizes, physical advantages or disadvantages, genetic makeup, and mental drive. We do not exclude children from sports because of their body traits. Scientific American recently published a piece about the myth of transgender girls taking over girls' sport; "Trans Girls Belong on Girls' Sports Teams: There Is No Scientific Case for Excluding Them." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/transgirlsbelongongirlssportsteams/Read it.

Diana Wright []

HF 2309 I am writing to oppose this bill. As a physician, I am telling you this is not based on science or any reality, but purely on prejudice. Trans girls should have the right to compete in sports just as any other girl!! Support of this bill shows a lack of knowledge about how hormonal therapy works and indicates a shameful bias. Base laws on facts and needs, not prejudice.

Leslie Beck [The Iowa 1791 Project]

I support this bill. Girls should be able to compete against only other biological girls and not against other biological boys. God did not create men and women with the same physical abilities. If he had, we would not have needed to create girls sports in the first place. Allow our girls to compete on a level playing field. #savegirlssports

Melissa Sternhagen [St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ]

February 14, 2022To the Members of the Iowa House Education Committee:I am a called and ordained clergy person in the United Church of Christ. I am also a responsible adult. As such, I take seriously the call to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable among us. I am reminded of how the writer of Psalm 82 calls God to "defend the weak and the parentless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Certainly such a call is not simply meant to concern God alone. It is meant to be a concern of Gods people as well.To be sure, our sacred texts speak plainly about the way in which we are to treat one another. We are to love one another as ourselves, we are to recognize the image of the Divine in one another, and we are to protect the most vulnerable among us. Our trans and nonbinary youth are some of the most vulnerable amongs us in the state of Iowa and in the U.S. I am writing in hope that you will join me in protecting them from the damaging details and provisions that comprise HF2309.According to January 2022 data from The Trevor Project, 85% of trans and nonbinary youth reported that following recent news about issues that impact the transgender community has negatively impacted their mental health. If it is true that participation in sports can and does have a positive impact on the selfesteem and mental health of young people, why would the focus be on limiting or eliminating participation for such a vulnerable population? Trans and nonbinary youth are effectively denied the opportunity to participate in school sports at all just as soon as you deny them the opportunity to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Which, of course, means that they are also denied the positive impacts mentioned above. Meanwhile, cisgender youth continue to enjoy the positive impacts of participation in sports.HF2309 not only damages the most vulnerable among us, it actually seeks to foot the bill for any "lawsuit or complaint and incurred by an accredited nonpublic school,a school district,or an employee,board of directors member, or a member of the authorities in charge of a nonpublic school,including any award for attorney fees and costs for which that entity or individual would be otherwise responsible." In other words, this bill offers statesanctioned discrimination on the basis of sex, as discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is, as US Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in 2020, "necessarily bound up with discrimination on the basis of sex."But beyond all of the legalities and the quoted scripture, one thing remains sure: For generations we have been discriminating against vulnerable and marginalized people, and for generations we have been getting it wrong. First it was preventing Black people from full participation in sports, then it was women, and then it was gay and lesbian athletes. We continue to be content to discriminate and damage the most vulnerable among us based on a fear or a lack of understanding of the differences that exist in humanity as well as the notion that difference, when included, spoils the experience for others. My siblings in Christ, this cannot continue to be so.As a pastor, as a responsible adult, and as a fellow human being, I implore this House Education committee to focus its attention on Iowa's slipping educational ranking and its underfunded public schools. I implore this committee to remember the call to love one another as you love yourselves. I implore you to protect some of the most vulnerable among us, our trans and nonbinary youth, by refusing to send HF2309 beyond your committee for a vote.Sincerely,Rev. Melissa R. SternhagenPastor, St. Paul Congregational United Church of ChristOskaloosa, IA

Mandy Gilbert []

Please support this bill to protect biological females in sports. This bill does not exclude anyone participating in school sports, it merely creates an equal opportunity for girls to compete fairly with other females. Women should not compete against men in a womens sport. Thank you for supporting and protecting female athletes.

Darin Bergmann []

I fully and 100% support this bill. Science tells us the genes DNA make up of a biological female are different than those of a male! This has absolutely nothing to do with "discrimination". Why should a person who is stronger biologically be able to compete in girls sports just because they feel different and feel like they are a male. Its ridiculous to even think this way. This legislature NEEDS to be passed. It's a very slippery slope. Do what's right and what science says to not allow transgender females to compete in female sports!

Roxanne McGee []

I support this bill. Having biological men compete against biological women will singlehandedly wipe away the progress and work that went into making women's sports what they are today. Talented and skilled women athletes are missing out on opportunities and achievements because they are competing against somebody who is naturally built to be faster and stronger. Passing this bill also protects women's safety. Women's wrestling is now a sanctioned sport. It isn't safe for a woman to wrestle a biological male. There is a same issue of concern with women's boxing.

Chad Veach []

I support HF 2309, to protect the competitive nature of girls sports through participation eligibility requirements, so that biological boys are restricted from competing in athletic competition intended for girls.

Judah Richardson []

I oppose HF2309, by the way. I forgot to mention that in my previous comment.

Kailey Gee []

As a trans student, I am opposed to HF 2309. This will negatively affect the mental health of me and my peers, as well as trans people throughout the community. Please just have some empathy. Please don't do this.https://wsspaper.com/65052/sports/beyondthebinary/