Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) declared himself an ally to trans athletes on Monday after a vote in the Senate on proposed legislation that would prevent men from competing in women’s sports.
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act failed to obtain more than the 60 votes necessary to avoid a Senate filibuster.
“To provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” read the legislation.
It was defeated in a party-line vote, with 51 Republicans voting to support it and 46 Democrats voting against it. Fetterman voted against the bill and criticized the measure in a social media post on Monday evening. He said that trans athletes deserved “an ally” and that he was one.
“The small handful of trans athletes in PA in a political maelstrom deserve an ally and I am one,” Fetterman posted. “Depersonalized as ‘they/them’ in a political ad, but are just schoolchildren.”
The senator from Pennsylvania referred to legislative action and criticism of males participating in female sports as cruel and not a “dignified solution.”
“Empty show votes or cruelty on social media aren’t part of a thoughtful, dignified solution,” Fetterman added.
Of particular note, however, was that Fetterman did not provide any commentary, on social media or otherwise, about female schoolchildren who would be forced to compete against male athletes, despite claims to the contrary when citing gender identity.
The bill was particularly important to Fetterman’s senate colleague, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). He introduced the legislation, along with 39 other co-sponsors. Before the vote, he commented on the bill’s history and the challenges of getting it passed because of the lack of Democratic support.
“This is the third time that I’ve had a vote on this bill,” said Tuberville. “The other two times have failed because we have had almost zero Democrats help to support women and girls in sports.”
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Meanwhile, Fetterman’s comments and vote on the bill reinforce his commitment to issues and values that align with his left-wing politics. Previously, it was suggested that Fetterman might be straying away from his political party’s beliefs given his comments regarding Hamas, co-sponsoring and voting for the Laken Riley Act, and meeting President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Despite the setback in the Senate, there is hope that the spirit of the bill and the declarations made in the legislation would still be implemented nationwide. In February, Trump issued the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, which made the official policy of the U.S. “to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
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