Transgender activists are turning up the pressure on eight Michigan Democrats who sided with Republicans to call for a ban on biological males in women’s sports.
Sixty-six members of the Michigan House of Representatives voted in favor of a resolution on Wednesday urging the Michigan High School Athletic Association to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order banning biological males from women’s sports.
The vote for House Resolution 40 included all Republicans voting and eight Democrats, while the remaining 43 Democrats in the lower chamber opposed.
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Democrats who backed the resolution included Reps. Tullio Liberati, Alabas Farhat, Mai Xiong, Peter Herzberg, Reggie Miller, Denise Mentzer, Angela Witwer, and Will Snyder.
“We all want sports to be fair and student athletes to be safe,” said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan Action Network, said in a statement cited by Pride Source. “That’s why the MHSAA already has rules about who can participate in different sports at different levels across a range of issues. They already have a process in place and are experts when it comes to sports in schools. They don’t need politicians in Lansing to override their expertise with a one-size-fits-all blanket ban.”
Pride Source listed the phone numbers for all Democrats who voted for HR 40, a practice called doxing.
“Concerned residents are encouraged to call the listed Democratic representatives who supported this resolution,” according to the LGBTQ news site.
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Resolution sponsor Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, told lawmakers Wednesday “we should acknowledge that while we are all equal in dignity and rights we are also biologically distinct in ways that are both beautiful and scientifically undeniable,” according to the Detroit Free Press.
“Acknowledging these difference is vital to the fairness and safety of the sports that we hold dear. So the legacy of our grandmothers and mothers who fought tirelessly for our right to stand, run and compete as equals on the sports field, that must not be forgotten,” Greene added.
“They laid that groundwork for a world where a girl’s strength is celebrated,” she said. “It is our duty to protect this legacy for future generations of women athletes.”
The resolution follows the MHSAA’s refusal to comply with the executive order issued by Trump on Feb. 5 titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.
Michigan House Republicans last week held a press conference to urge the MHSAA to align its policies with Trump’s EO after spokesman Geoff Kimmerly told Bridge Michigan the private nonprofit that oversees Michigan interscholastic athletics doesn’t plan to change its policy allowing boys in girls’ sports, effectively defying the 47th POTUS.
“We’re just waiting for the next step I suppose,” Kimmerly said, noting conflicts between the EO and Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which Democrats amended in 2023 to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes.
“Obviously there’s a conflict here, and it’s going to have to be worked out one way or another,” he said.
In the meantime, Kimberly said, the MHSAA’s plan is “to continue to go with our policy as is” until there’s “more clarification” on the law.
MHSAA’s current policy allows biologically male transgender girls to participate in girls’ sports, if they secure a waiver.
“When questions arise involving trans girl (male to female) student-athletes, the MHSAA executive director will determine eligibility for MHSAA tournaments on a case-by-case basis after being provided at least 30 days prior” with specific documentation, according to the MHSAA’s 2023-24 handbook.
The NCAA, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and state athletic associations have already complied with Trump’s EO, which states it’s “the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.
“It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth,” it continues.
While HR 40, which Republicans plan to send to Trump, simply urges the MHSAA to comply with the president’s EO, and is not legally binding.
Rep. Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, a former executive director for Equality Michigan, spoke out against the resolution on the House floor.
“I know what it is to be a queer kid and it is lonely. I know what it is to be our nonbinary legislator and it is isolating and dehumanizing,” she said. “This resolution isn’t about fairness. It isn’t about protecting women’s sports. This isn’t about safety because there is no threat. There is no threat.”
Two biological boys secured waivers from the MHSAA to participate on girls’ sports teams last fall, WWMT reports.
On Thursday, member of the House GOP Women’s Caucus followed up Wednesday’s vote with a press conference to highlight their own personal stories about athletics, and why they’re fighting to preserve the opportunities they had.
“It’s unacceptable to compromise the hard-earned achievements of girl athletes, and as a legislator, along with my colleagues here today, I firmly believe that we are on the right side of history advocating for our girls’ sports,” said Rep. Alicia St. Germaine, R-Harrison Twp. “This is the moment to stand up for what we believe in, and fight for all of our daughters and our granddaughters.”