Last month the Center for American Progress released a report titled, “Ending the Backlash on LGBTQI+ Issues.” The report details strategies the Democratic party should utilize in response to the conservative dogma targeting transgender rights in athletics, military service and healthcare.
Written by the Director of LGBTQI+ Policy Caleb Smith and founder of the organization’s LGBTQI+ program Senior Fellow Winnie Stachelberg, the aim of the report is to help Democratic leaders stand strong in support of LGBTQ+ issues while shifting the focus of these discussions toward more productive economic outcomes that benefit all Americans.
The core tenants of the report include anti-discrimination; equal access to work, housing and public spaces; and political non-interference in medical decisions. Smith and Stachelberg highlight the urgent necessity of passing “comprehensive LGBTQI+ nondiscrimination protections, such as those provided in the Equality Act,” citing a 2024 CAP LGBTQ+ Community Survey which found that 36 percent of LGBTQI+ adults experienced discrimination the previous year.
Although the document advocates for the expansion of protections for transgender Americans as a whole, it does make an exception for athletics inclusion. Per the report, “Decisions about eligibility in athletics should be made by local school districts, communities, and sports associations that best understand the competitive demands of sports and their students’ needs. As is true for any eligibility requirements, localized sports policies will vary based on the level of competition and specific sport characteristics … This is where these decisions appropriately lie: with sports’ governing bodies or schools themselves rather than with politicians. While local bodies and associations should minimize unnecessary exclusion, restrictions may be appropriate under some circumstances.”
This exception has drawn criticism from transgender rights advocates, marking it as a dangerous point of appeasement toward the right, while the authors of the document argue that this framework intends to do the opposite: provide a firm foundation against right-wing encroachment on the more fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.
According to a June 2023 Gallup poll, 69 percent of Americans responded that transgender athletes should play on sports teams corresponding with their birth sex. As we grow closer to the 2028 presidential election, only time will tell whether or not this approach will resonate with the broader American public.
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