Democrats reject California bills banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports

California Democrats on an Assembly committee this week blocked two bills that would have banned transgender athletes from girls’ sports, locker rooms, bathrooms and dorms, after an emotional three-hour hearing that underscored the political divide in both the country and state.

Assembly Bill 89 would have required the California Interscholastic Federation to change its policies and prohibit an athlete who was male at birth from participating in a girls’ interscholastic sports team. Assembly Bill 844 would have changed state law to require college and K-12 students who play sports to play on the teams and use the facilities that align with the sex they were assigned at birth.