(The Center Square) — For the second year in a row, the Maryland Legislature killed a bill known as the “Fairness in Girls’ Sports” bill that would disallow biological males from playing girls’ sports in junior varsity and varsity teams.
Though 25 states have seen fit to adopt a version of the bill, it hasn’t seen the same success in Maryland, where the governor designated March 31 International Transgender Day of Visibility last year.
Many were at the bill’s hearing before the House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee to speak on its behalf. Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who brought the original legislation after which bills like House Bill 47 are modeled and who added in testimony that Maryland’s bill was less restrictive than some of the legislation that has been passed elsewhere.
“I applaud Maryland for trying to narrow down and put this in a very small window, a very small touch, so that we’re allowing for our girls to have fair competition and a fair chance starting in junior high and high school. I don’t know if you could have a smaller touch in doing it this way,” Ehardt said.