Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this bill, which should be titled banning kids from school sports act.

No group of kids should be banned from school sports, period. We all know what school sports are about. It is about teamwork, determination, physical well-being. The Federal Government doesn't belong in our classrooms, in the locker rooms of these kids, or between these children and their parents.

There is this creepy idea that this bill is going to require genital inspections of children. I mean, this is outrageous.

There was an invocation of some liturgy just a few moments ago saying children are the creations of God. All children are the creations of God. It is not up to you to decide which children don't belong. These are all God's children. And don't accept this phony claim that this is about the safety of kids. In fact, we know otherwise.

A very conservative advocacy group came up with this idea. The President of that advocacy group said: ``We knew we needed to find an issue that the candidates were comfortable talking about, and we threw everything at the wall.'' They came up with this campaign against trans kids, a sinister, political operation to use these kids to advance their success in politics. It is wrong. All kids belong playing in sports, to play with their friends, to enjoy their childhood.

There are more than 450 anti-trans bills being introduced all across this country. It is terrible. These children matter. We see them. We value them, and we have to respect them. Actually, trans kids belong and deserve to participate in every school activity.

Mr. Chair, if my colleagues really cared about the well-being of kids, let me remind them that the leading cause of death in this country is gun violence. Yet, our Republican colleagues will not do anything to protect children from being slaughtered in their schools-- the leading cause of death in this country. Instead, we are going to spend time debating a bill to insert the Federal Government into elementary schools and middle schools to prevent all children from participating in sports.

What a terrible idea. Shame on you. This is a disgrace, and I urge Members to vote ``no'' on this hideous piece of legislation.

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