Here We Go Again

The Republicans waste so much time on anti-trans bills, they keep saying that cutting government spending is their #1 priority but it seems like they are more worried about peeing and locker rooms than anything else.

Nebraska’s Aggressive New Plan To Keep Transgender Students From Playing Sports
By Zack Ford
December 15, 2015

The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) has been wrestling with what to do with transgender athletes for years. In December of 2012, the NSAA quietly opened the door for transgender students to play for the teams that match their gender identities, but its latest policy proposal places several hurdles into the process, some of which are likely to be insurmountable. In fact, the policy segregates the locker room usage of almost every transgender student who would take advantage of it, which is quite likely a violation of federal law.

In many ways, the NSAA’s drafted policy mirrors a policy introduced in Virginia last year, but with a few key differences. One of the biggest is the fact that individual schools in Nebraska will still be able to make their own decisions about letting transgender students participate.

But… you know there is always a “but”

If a school allows a student to participate, the student then applies to the NSAA’s Gender Identity Eligibility Committee. The application requires substantial documentation, including a written statement from the student and parents affirming the student’s identity, documentation from friends or teachers confirming consistent gender identification, written verification from an appropriate health-care professional, medical documentation of hormonal therapy and other treatments related to gender dyphoria, and and [sic] other relevant documents. If these documents do not satisfy the committee, there is an appeal process, but the Appeals Committee must unanimously agree that the student is eligible to participate.

Then there is a question as where the student can change, and you know the answer they have…

No hurdle is higher, however, than what the policy requires for access to locker rooms:

A transgender student who has been granted permission by the NSAA to participate in activities of the gender with which the student identifies, but has not undergone sex reassignment surgery, shall at NSAA-sponsored contests be permitted to use the restrooms and locker rooms associated with their birth sex or shall be assigned private toilet, locker and shower room facilities appropriate for the student’s gender identity, as appropriate and available.

In other words, students allowed to play will still not to be allowed to use the locker room with their teammates unless they undergo an expensive life-changing surgery. And almost none of them will. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care recommend that patients not undergo genital surgery until they reach the age of medical consent. Nebraska happens to have a peculiarly high age of medical consent; unless a minor marries or emancipates, the age of consent is 19.

So once again we are segregated and marginalized.