(IntegrityPress.org) – The Board of Education in Alaska on Thursday, August 31, decided to approve a proposed ban on so-called “transgender girls” (males) from competing in girls’ sports teams and activities in high schools across the state. Mike Dunleavy, Alaskan Governor, tried to push the ban even earlier this year, but the state Legislature halted it.
The argument for the proposal surrounds the ethics and fairness of girls competing against boys. The Board of Education clearly stated that the only females that can join the sports teams are those who were “assigned female at birth.”
The current guidelines in Alaska leave the decision of letting (or not letting) a “transgender girl” compete up to the high school or district itself, not to any overarching governmental entity. Up until now, there were no policies written in stone.
The spokesperson for the Alaskan American Civil Liberties Union, Michael Garvey, has criticized the law and called it dangerous and an attack on children and their identity. He further implied that children should not be judged for simply wanting to play sports, regardless of the gender they identify as.
This law was pushed in Alaska by Dunleavy from as far back as June 2022. Another law he tried to push would ban transgender people in high school from entering locker rooms or bathrooms that don’t correspond to their actual gender they were born with.
Transgender identity laws, as controversial as they are, are set to be one of the defining cultural issues and hot topics for the 2024 elections. Biden has criticized such bans in the past. So far, Republicans and Democrats in general seem to be mostly evenly split on the issue.
Alaska is not the only state banning “transgender girls” and “transgender women” from participating in women’s sports. Similar laws are currently in effect in over 20 states, which perhaps shows a push against the grain of the policies of the Federal government.
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