FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2021
CONTACT
Lindsay Kee, 615-320-7142
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today members of the Tennessee Senate Education Committee and the House Education Administration Committee voted to advance SB 228/HB 3, which would prohibit transgender student athletes from participating in athletics consistent with their gender identity.
Chase Strangio, deputy director for Trans Justice, with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project:
“Today Tennessee lawmakers voted to advance a harmful and unconstitutional bill that discriminates against transgender children by barring them from participating in the school sports that they love. Without a single example of a Tennessee student facing any harm, lawmakers still insist on leveraging these misguided attacks on some of the most vulnerable youth in the state. As an attorney currently challenging similar legislation that passed last year in Idaho and defending the rights of transgender students in courts across the country, I know that these sweeping attacks violate Title IX and the Constitution and will ultimately fail in court. Trans students belong in our schools, including on sports teams. If a trans child is excluded because of this legislation, we will see you in court.”
