Florida State Rep Anthony Sabatini has filed a new bill that would prevent transgenders from playing in girls’ school sports and stops sex change surgery on minors.
Sabatini filed Florida House Bill 935, also known as the Protecting Girls’s Sports Act, last week. The bill amends two pieces of previous Florida law relating to discrimination against students, and eligibility of school sports, ensuring that “only students of the female sex are eligible to participate on athletic teams designed for girls only.”
Not only does Sabatini’s bill stop male-to-female transgenders, who benefit from more athletic and strong skeletal structures, from competing in women’s sports in school, but it also criminalizes the performance of any type of transgender surgery, including sex change surgery and hormone treatments. Any medical practitioner who performs treatment “for the purpose of attempting to change the minor’s sex” would be committing a misdemeanour of the first degree.
“Both women’s sports and our children must be protected from radical social experimentation,” Sabatini said in a tweet announcing the bill. Speaking exclusively to National File, he argued that the “radical woke left has declared war on gender, and this bill fights back against them.”
JUST FILED HB 935, a Bill that disallows transgender men from competing in girls sports in school. The Bill also makes it illegal to perform transgender surgery on children. Both women’s sports and our children must be protected from radical social experimentation. pic.twitter.com/tIX1OmY9Mq
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) February 11, 2021
The bill from Sabatini in the Florida State Legislature mirrors one created at the national level at the end of last year by former Democrat Representative Tulsi Gabbard. The “Protect Women’s Sports Act of 2020,” would clarify Title IX protections to be based on biological sex, not gender, thereby impacting transgender athletes in the same way that Sabatini’s bill would.
NEW: Hawaii Rep. @TulsiGabbard introduces bill called ‘Protect Women’s Sports Act’ — would clarify Title IX protections to be based on biological sex, which would impact transgender athletes participating in athletic programs for women and girls @KITV4 pic.twitter.com/VcDDgO1mFL
— Tom George (@TheTomGeorge) December 10, 2020
In a series of tweets, Gabbard argued that the act simply ensures that men and women can compete on an “equal playing field” in sports:
Denying biological differences between men & women undermines the reason why Title IX was created in the first place… My ‘Protect Women’s Sports Act’ is based on science… Title IX was created out of a recognition of a biological distinction between men & women, & the need to make sure women & girls have equal opportunities to compete on a level playing field in sports. My bill upholds the original intent of Title IX, & strengthens it. That’s all.
Title IX is a historic law that positively changed everything for women & girls. This video explains how, and why I introduced the Protect Women’s Sports Act – to clarify, uphold & strengthen the original intent of Title IX, ensuring a level playing field for girls & women. pic.twitter.com/B0647yCGmW
— Tulsi Gabbard
(@TulsiGabbard) December 13, 2020
Sabatini, known as one of the most America First legislators in the state, also recently introduced Florida HB 33, known as the “Stop Social Media Censorship Act,” which would “allow for a state cause of action (lawsuit) against large social media companies that censor user’s content.” As National File reported:
Any social media site with over 75 million users who deleted the “political or religious” speech of a user, could be sued for damages, a minimum of $75,000 per deleted post, or other forms of relief, and may not use the defence of alleged” hate speech of the user at trial. Speaking exclusively to National File, Rep Sabatini said that this bill will “stop Big Tech from eliminating the public square and choking out conservatives.”