The Kentucky State Senate has advanced a bill to ban transgender youth from playing sports consistent with their gender identity. The bill effectively excludes transgender girls from all sports activities increasing their isolation & denying them the social, physical & emotional benefits of sports benefits which are especially important as the country emerges from a pandemic that has isolated youth from their peers. Cathryn Oakley HRC State Legislative Director & Senior Counsel stated, “By passing this bill the Kentucky State Senate has put misinformation & disapproval of transgender youth ahead of the best interest of the kids of the Commonwealth. This has been an especially difficult last few years for young people, who have been isolated from their friends & forced to be apart for their own safety. Now is the time to be coming together & sports is a huge part of that. School sports are about health, leadership & having fun which are important lessons for kids, including transgender kids, to learn. Legislators have failed to provide examples of any problem in Kentucky related to trans kids playing sports alongside their peers - the only justification for this bill is discrimination against kids who are different. We thank the champions of equality who stood up & spoke out on behalf of transgender youth. We urge the House to follow these leaders’ examples & to vote ‘no’ all legislation that harms transgender youth – to avoid putting the national spotlight on Kentucky for the wrong reasons & to do the right thing for Kentucky’s families.” The passage of Kentucky’s SB 83 & a similar bill HB 23 both come after a historically bad 2021 session that saw a record number of anti-transgender bills introduced & passed across the country.
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