MN House GOP proposal to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports fail

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A House GOP proposal to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports in Minnesota failed on Monday, after more than two hours of debate in chambers and fierce opposition from DFL lawmakers. 

With a temporary 67-66 majority in the chamber, Republican leaders were able to advance the legislation known as House File 12 to the floor for a vote under Speaker Lisa Demuth. However, with 68 votes needed to actually pass legislation, the GOP bill on transgender athlete participation failed when the entire DFL caucus voted against the proposal.

A similar effort by Republicans in the Senate, where the GOP is outnumbered 34-33, was blocked Monday from coming to the floor.

To rally support for HF12, Republican leaders gathered on the steps of the capitol Monday morning with the America First Policy Institute and Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who has campaigned for similar legislation in other states.

“Does your Representative believe that women are worthy of equality and equal opportunities?” Gaines said. “Because if they do, your Representative will be a ‘yes’ vote.”

Speaker Demuth introduced Gaines and said that HF12 is “more than just a bill.”

“The vote we take today on House File 12,” Demuth said, “represents a pivotal moment for those who care deeply about the future of girls’ and women’s sports in our state.”

However, there were separate rallies held Monday afternoon at the capitol to oppose HF12, and DFL lawmakers blasted the GOP proposal as a bullying tactic against transgender kids. Rep. Sydney Jordan also introduced an amendment seeking to codify the Minnesota State High School League’s policy on gender identity, which is under federal investigation by the Trump administration right now for not complying with an executive order. That amendment also failed when Republicans voted it down. 

Meanwhile, during floor debate Monday, Democrats also questioned how schools could even enforce such a ban on transgender girls in girls’ sports.

“[House File 12] is not a bill about fairness in sports,” said Rep. Liish Kozlowski (DFL – Duluth), “but is in fact a bill to bully trans girls and non-binary kids to try to eradicate us from public life.”

Chris Mosier, the first transgender athlete to make a U.S. national team in 2016, called HF12 “political theater.”

“Transgender people are the go-to targets for lawmakers right now, who are looking to score cheap political points instead of actually doing their jobs,” Mosier said.

After next week’s special election for a vacant seat in Ramsey County, the House is expected to return to a 67-67 tie, unless the Republicans pull an upset in a heavily-DFL district. That will hamstring the GOP’s ability to bring all of its priority bills to the floor for votes. Therefore, with the bill failing in the House and not coming to the floor in the Senate, it’s likely this issue may be tabled now for the rest of the legislative session. 

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