On Thursday, several Republican representatives in the Oregon state House tried to force a vote on a bill that would forbid transgender students from competing on varsity teams aligned with their gender identity. 

House Bill 2037 was sponsored by 15 Republican members of the state’s House and Senate. But despite their efforts, the bill failed immediately.

Related

Trans championship athlete threatened by Trump says she’s “not scared” of him
Trump tried to get the teen booted from California’s track-and-field finals. He failed, and she won big.

Oregon’s legislature holds a liberal majority and has passed several laws protecting trans youth through the Oregon Equality Act. The state was also one of four that sued the current presidential administration for pledging to pull federal funding from hospitals providing gender-affirming care to trans youth.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

As such, the idea of H.B. 2037 being prioritized, let alone having any chance of being approved by the state House, Senate, or Oregon’s out lesbian Gov. Tina Kotek (D) is absurd at best. This, however, did not deter conservative legislators from trying to push the bill in a way that many of their Democratic colleagues deemed inappropriate.

In state House meetings, representatives are allowed to invite guests and, in some cases, are given the opportunity to introduce visiting dignitaries. At the Thursday meeting, Republicans brought female athletes and used the opportunity to have them explain how competing against trans people in sports has negatively impacted them. They used these stories as a segue to force House members to move forward with H.B. 2037.

House Minority Leader Representative Christine Drazan (R) also used the opportunity to share a story from one of her interns in which she was “forced” to share a locker room with a trans student her age.

Despite these women’s sob stories, an abundance of reporting and evidence shows that trans students are the ones more at risk from using facilities matching their gender identity, and face harsher discrimination in day-to-day life.

Recently, a trans teen from Portland, Oregon — who previously captured headlines for winning a state championship in a 200-meter race —is fleeing to Canada with her family, citing anti-trans violence and death threats for her role in competing on the women’s track team for her school.

Her victory was met with a chorus of boos and she had to compete with a security guard by her side due to the extreme nature of the death threats she has gotten, she told Oregon Live  “When they call me a predator, that’s the worst one,” she said. “I hate it so much.”

Despite Republicans’ attempt to force the House to address this bill that would’ve violated their state’s anti-discrimination laws, H.B. 2037 was defeated in a 32-22 vote, with the Democratic majority not in favor, ending the futile effort to push this bill once and for all. 

Though the conversation didn’t end there. For the final 35 minutes of the nearly three-hour floor session, Democratic lawmakers vented their frustration about the morning’s trickery.

State Rep. Rob Nosse (D) told Oregon Live he felt Republicans had abused a portion of their daily schedule, normally reserved for introducing guests and highlighting notable developments, to instead argue a policy decision.

“There are probably more thoughtful ways and meaningful ways that we could talk about this challenge and this topic. But what I heard this morning was not the way that I think that should be done,” Nosse said. “Mostly what I heard … I thought it was just mean.” 

Rep. Jules Walters (D) and other Democratic colleagues have pointed to the high risk of bullying and discrimination against trans teens as well as the mental health concerns and heightened risk for suicide reported by trans youth.

“This rhetoric attacking trans youth has devastating real-life consequences. At best, it alienates Oregon’s children. And at worst, it leads to children taking their own lives,” Walters said.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.