Dem. Rep. Moulton Claims To Be Against Males In Women's Sports But Voted Against Bill To End It
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act" by a vote of 218-206. Only two Democrats voted in favor of the Republican-sponsored bill. Neither of those Democrats was Seth Moulton of Massachusetts.
Why is that significant? Well, in November, Moulton blasted his fellow Democrats for their position on transgender athletes (specifically, males competing in women's sports).
Following the election of Donald Trump and a sweep of Congress by Republicans, Moulton expressed that Democrats had lost touch with American voters.
"I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete," Moulton told the New York Times. "But as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that."
Democrat Representative Seth Moulton (Mass.) says that there should be restrictions on transgender athletes in women's sports, yet voted against the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports" act.
(Olivia Sun/The Register via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
CNN invited Moulton on to further discuss his comments days after his initial remarks to the Times. He didn't back down or retract.
"I was just speaking authentically as a parent about one of many issues where Democrats are just out of touch with the majority of Americans," he said, according to CBS News. "And I stand by my position, even though I may not have used exactly the right words."
Despite previous statements, Moulton voted against the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports" bill that passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The only two Democrats who voted in favor of H.R. 28 on Tuesday were Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both from Texas.
It was somewhat surprising that Moulton was not among the "yea" voters, considering his previous comments. Unfortunately, when it came time to make policy, Moulton decided that sticking with his party was more important than sticking with his convictions.
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Moulton posted a lengthy "vote explainer" on his website and said the Republican bill was "too extreme."
He wrote that the bill "fails to distinguish between children and adults and different levels of athletics, school-aged kids who simply want to play recreational sports and build camaraderie like everybody else could be targeted by the federal government. My kids play co-ed sports today just as I did when I was their age, and I don’t want any kids their age subjected to the invasive violations of personal privacy this bill allows.
"Under this law, a 10-year-old girl who seems ‘too tall’ or even just ‘too good’ could be targeted by officials and forced to release medical information or have her private parts inspected, which is disturbing to say the least and a slippery slope for school policy and youth athletics."
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol after the House passed the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act."
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Just so everyone is clear, the "invasive violations of personal privacy" that Democrats are claiming are misleading. They say that young girls and women will be subject to "genital examinations", which is not true.
In fact, all athletes undergo physicals before competing in athletics, so this is a non-issue. Would transgender people have to disclose that they were born male? Yes, they would. Just as I have to disclose that I am male on my driver's license, passport and all other documentation.
All Republicans want is for schools and athletic teams to look at a person's original birth certificate, to see what sex he or she is at birth. That's not an "invasive violation of personal privacy."
I grew up playing baseball, and like many sports, that is separated by age at the youth level. My parents had to submit my birth certificate every year to prove I was competing in the correct age group. This is not a radical new idea or a major change to how sports operate.
In addition, Moulton's argument about co-ed sports is ridiculous. Yes, co-ed sports exist. But female athletes CHOOSE to compete with and against male athletes in these cases. They are not forced to do so. And that's the crux of the issue and the crux of the Republican bill.
It's the part where women are forced to compete against males and share bathrooms and locker rooms with them where the issues arise. The co-ed sports argument is a simple strawman.
At least Moulton, unlike many Democrats, concedes that men and women are different.
That being said, Moulton continued to argue that regulations need to be put in place, just not the ones that Republicans proposed.
"I firmly believe that there should be reasonable restrictions on transgender athletes in competitive sports. This is a matter of safety and fairness for female athletes who have worked exceptionally hard to compete," Moulton wrote.
"There is no denying that there are biological differences that result from being born male. Ignoring this scientific fact and opposing any attempt at regulation is not only wrong, but it undermines what I believe should be a broader effort to enshrine core civil rights protections for transgender Americans."
Well, at least Moulton acknowledges the obvious fact that men and women are different. Unfortunately, many Democrats won't even budge on their denial of basic biology.