Thread by @EqualityTexas

Representative Swanson is now laying out HB 25 in the House. You can watch live or follow along as we'll tweet the full hearing. tlchouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.ph…

Please note: bill supporters will only refer to transgender girls as "biological males" throughout this hearing because they want to erase the humanity of and recognition of trans people as real, full, and equal human beings.

Swanson speaks about 332,000 girls in UIL sports in Texas as "not a small number" but she somehow believes that a handful of transgender girls — none she can cite in Texas — participating in sports would destroy athletics for those 332k.

The only trans athletes Swanson cites as K-12 athletes are from CT, who DID NOT win all races and DID NOT receive scholarships. The 3 cisgender girls who sued them for "lost opportunities and unfairness" are all in college on athletic scholarships.

Students on a tour to the Capitol from Mesquite High School asked for a photo. Cisgender students support their transgender friends and classmates. Please recognize this, #TXlege.

.@RepMaryGonzalez makes an impassioned plea to accept an amendment that would stop enactment of the bill, but Rep. Swanson says it would "effectively kill the bill."

Swanson then says #HB25 only codifies current UIL rules. That is 100% FALSE. She then admits that by saying "it only changes one thing..." which is to *no longer allow* amended birth certificates which affirm a trans child's gender to be used when registering for sports.

Rep Swanson said "Who would have ever thought we would need this kind of bill, but the UIL has said there has been an increase in requests for these athletes to compete." But the UIL has never said it was a problem, nor did she ever say UIL requested these bills.

.@VoteAnnJohnson talks about when she first heard someone talk about "girls who like girls" would go to Hell, and she knew she was one of them. She wanted to talk to her mom but was afraid. She went into a dark closet for 30 years because of that moment.

@VoteAnnJohnson She says she has gotten to know her colleagues on both sides of the aisle and loves them, and know that many love her back. She says many acknowledge it was wrong in the 70s to say that to gay kids. And she asks them to acknowledge it today for trans kids.

She said that because of something she heard on tv, she never gave her parents the chance to have a conversation with her about who she is. And that trans kids today are listening to legislators and may not have those important conversations with their parents.

Rep. Mary Gonzalez comes back to close out her amendment. "I know this could be a hard vote to explain back home. But is winning your seat worth more than a 14-year-old's life?"

"This is Bathroom Bill 3.0" to our community. @ErinForYall asks "The bathroom bill didn't pass. Have we seen the predicted danger to little girls in bathrooms across the state?" Absolutely not. Because trans people weren't a danger then, and trans girls is sports isn't now.

The amendment fails by a vote of 46-68.

Rep. Slaton proposes an amendment to define biological sex, similar to a definition used by @PPFA. @jessicafortexas has questions: 1st pointing out that PP isn't part of the bill, 2nd whether intersex kids would be acknowledged or ignored, 3rd who "inspects" a child's biology?

The amendment is acceptable to bill author Rep Swanson. The vote is 79-50. His amendment is adopted.

.@juliejohnsonTX offers an amendment to replace "sex" with "gender" in #HB25 to better reflect current UIL rules. Rep. Swanson says the bill only codifies UIL's rules, so this should receive unanimous support if that's what supporters actually want. Right, #TXlege? Let's see...

Swanson objects. She says she has head that the definition of gender is fluid, with up to 150 genders. Rep Mary Gonzalez asks, "so you recognize there are more than 2 genders" and someone off camera whispers to Swanson, "say some people believe that."

Rep Mary Gonzalez presses: "Does your bill have implications for transgender youth."
Off-screen whisperer: "You've answer the question."
Swanson: "I've answered the question."
Gonzalez: "No you haven't."

The amendment to replace "sex" with "gender" in HB 25 fails by a vote of 52-78.

Amendment 4 by @vote4ina would change #HB25 so it applies to competition, but would allow trans youth to be part of a team in alignment with their gender identity for practices/non-competitive games. There is a Point Of Order against it. (That's a POO for folks new to #TXlege.)

While we wait, it would be a great time to call Speaker Phelan's office...
☎️512-463-1000

The POO is withdrawn. Rep Swanson is against Rep Minjarez's amendment saying "the UIL already does a great job" but if she believes that, she wouldn't be pushing a bill that changes current UIL rules.

Rep @CeliaIsrael asks if Rep Swanson believes that trans girls would benefit from being part of a team, practicing with them, getting exercise, even if they couldn't compete to win. Swanson replies that cis girls could be hurt in practice. Translation: trans girls are dangerous.

So @ErinForYall jumps in...does this amendment affect the ability for cis girls to get a spot on a team, win, or get a scholarship.

Rep Swanson replies that she does not recognize the term "cisgender" because she is just a woman.

There we have it.

We've had a half-dozen great Q&As about boys/girls practicing together, athletes improving because of hearty practice sessions, social skilled learned during practices. Vote is called. 55-71, the amendment failed.

This isn't about "fairness in competition."

Rep Minjarez proposes a new amendment that schools with a GSA should be exempted because they are generally located in areas where parents and community are more accepting of LGBTQ+ students. There is an immediate POO that it is not germane to the bill.

Caitlyn and Sean were taking a Capitol tour today and left it to protest with us for an hour. Allies are everywhere.

Come down to protest with us. We'll be here all day!

The POO is sustained as not being relevant to the bill.

.@BucyForTexas offers an amendment which would allow a physician to provide a letter that a child has "undergone appropriate clinical treatment" to be recognized as the gender they identify with. (That's the same language the Dept of State uses to update passports as valid IDs.)

@BucyForTexas Rep Bucy runs a large athletic league that allows trans students to compete based on gender identity, and says there has never been a problem of any kind, including in competition.

@BucyForTexas Rep Zwiener points out that this amendment would help "protect" sports from the boogeyman idea that cis boys will pretend to be trans girls just to have a chance at winning because healthcare providers would be involved.

Rep Swanson opposes the amendment, again because #HB25 isn't about codifying current UIL rules. It's about changing them so that no ID with an updated gender marker could be used by transgender children to play sports.

Rep Swanson again denies the use of the word "cisgender" and talks about "biological males" again. @ErinForYall replies that transgender people exist and points out that Swanson has had to look them in the eye and cannot/should not deny their existence.

@ErinForYall Rep Swanson says she has binders of info proving trans kids (even with puberty suppression/hormone therapy) have a biological advantage. Says "do you actually want me to start reading it?" Yes...because the doctor who helped write IOC standards disagrees. npr.org/2021/03/14/977…

Rep Slaton tries to twist "undergone appropriate clinical treatment for transition" to mean pre-pubertal children are having surgery (they do not). He also uses the vile language "chemical castration" to refer to puberty blockers (which is wholly inaccurate).

Rep Bucy's amendment goes to a vote. It fails 53-76.

.@SherylCole1 offers a similar amendment that would allow a doctor's letter to confirm a student's gender, saying that a doctor and a child's family would know who a child is and what is in the best interest of their patient.

@SherylCole1 She says the bill's author claims to want to "follow the science" and this amendment assists with that because physicians are well-versed in science. "We as legislators have to stop interfering in the sacred private relationships between doctor and patient."

The vote is called and the amendment fails 53-77.

.@TurnerForTX brings a POO to stop further consideration of #HB25, saying it is outside the Governor's call for this special session.

@TurnerForTX Take advantage of this POO break to send a message to the Speaker's office! Every single message helps.
secure.everyaction.com/i60lv_hOsE2N0p…

@TurnerForTX The Point of Order is withdrawn.

Amendment 8 by Rep Tinderholt was very quick and adds the word "scrivener," which is acceptable to the author. But he leaves the mic without taking any questions.

Scrivener is defined as "a clerk, scribe, or notary" in the dictionary but has some legal implications. @VoteAnnJohnson says that could greatly affect code, especially if it is different from a "clerical error," and could impact intersex children.

Rep Tinderholt returns to say that it is common to say "scrivener and clerical error" together in Texas code to indicate "unintentional" errors on legal documents that can be corrected.

Reps Mary Gonzalez and Israel ask if they can confer with the amendment's author for further amendments. He has already moved passage, so the amendment is up for a vote. It passes 80-48.

.@ErinForYall offers a new POO on the grounds that the bill is outside the purview of the governor's order.

☎️ You know what that means...we all have time to call Speaker Phelan's office: 512-463-1000

@ErinForYall The POO has been withdrawn.

.@jamestalarico introduces an amendment that would codify current UIL rules, which she has said the bill does over and over again. But because #HB25 would actually change the rules around birth certificates, she objects saying that BCs are easy to forge.🤦

@jamestalarico Rep Talarico asks Swanson if she has ever changed her birth certificate. She laughs and says "no because I have enjoyed my life as a biological female." Talarico replies that he has changed his because he is adopted and there are many reasons for those changes.

@jamestalarico She replies that she adopted two children and changed their birth certificates, so she carefully worded the bill's language to allow for those changes. That answers @ErinForYall's earlier question if she knows this bill specifically targets trans kids...🎯

Rep Talarico points out that amended BC's look identical to original ones and asked how this bill would be enforced. Rep Swanson said they won't go around checking, so there might be some people "who lie" when signing up for sports.

***breathe... breathe...***

Rep Dutton asks Talarico questions about BCs and how they would enforce the bill. Talarico replies "The bill authors and supporters can't say how. But that isn't the purpose of the bill. The purpose is to bully trans kids out of even trying to participate."

Talarico: "Because we have all admitted we can't tell if a BC has been amended, as an educator, I worry that the only way to enforce this bill is through inspections of a child's genitals or forced genetic testing."

The amendment is now up for a vote. It fails by a count of 51-78.

.@GinaForAustin offers an amendment re: local school control that would make the bill only apply to a school, district, or chartered school that passes a policy to adopt this bill's new rules by supermajority.

@GinaForAustin She tells a story about when the parent of her son's childhood best friend told her that their older child was transitioning and asked if her family would still be welcome at events. That's a hard question parents often need to ask, without a good outcome.

Rep Swanson objects, saying it would create a hodgepodge of rules. But others point out that she must worry that local school boards - elected by their community members - would object to #HB25 and its impact on their transgender students.

But when it was time to vote, the amendment failed by a vote of 52-78.

Rep @ChrisGTurner offers an amendment to limit the bill to individual sports and not to team sports, because the author has stated concerns about fairness and cis girls losing to trans girls. He points out that one player is unlikely to affect an entire team's outcome.

He does not agree with that premise, but offers it if the actual concern matches the author's stated concerns. Rep Swanson objects saying it would gut the bill and interfere with the purpose of the bill.

And this amendment - another one that points out the real intent of #HB25 - also fails by a vote of 52-78.

Amendment 12 by @juliejohnsonTX is to allow trans boys to participate in boys' sports, regardless of what their birth certificate gender marker indicates.

@juliejohnsonTX The amendment is temporarily withdrawn.

@juliejohnsonTX .@VikkiGoodwinTX introduces an amendment citing Title IX and its goal of increasing participation in girls' sports, and with data that shows trans-restrictive policies lower participation by girls and inclusive policies increase participation. americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-r…

Not sure exactly what the amendment was...but Swanson believes it will gut the bill, so the vote was 54-78 and it fails.

The next amendment is also from Rep Goodwin. It would limit the implementation of this bill to schools with professional licensed counselors on staff to assist trans students in dealing with the emotional fallout of experiencing blatant discrimination.

Rep Swanson objects because the amendment is "outside the scope of the bill." @ErinForYall says it's about mitigating the harm on the emotional/mental health of those students. Swanson says it would add a fiscal note, but Zwiener says it only applies where counselors are present.

@ErinForYall Swanson says "how would we know if those counselors are equipped to help those children?" and she worries about adding something to the bill that the Senate would object to.

@ErinForYall Swanson says she is concerned about all girls (but not trans girls) and when Zwiener says these debates have been shown to harm trans youth, to which Swanson says "if the debates are what causes harm, let's just vote on the bill."

@ErinForYall Swanson now turns to the Speaker to ask if she has to put up with being badgered and bullied. Zweiner says "Unfortunately trans youth feel bullied right now and I'm going to stand up for them."

This amendment, Amendment 14, is about the mental health of trans youth. Rep Goodwin points out that we keep hearing from Swanson about the 332,000 girls who are already allowed to play. They will still be able to play. Trans youth are who we need to consider.

This amendment says that at the bare minimum, trans youth should have access to mental health care in their school if they are going to be impacted by HB25 passing. Rep Zweiner says "I can't think of any reason to oppose this amendment unless your intent is to harm trans kids."

So now we get the vote on the bill...
And it fails 55-77.

The #TXlege is failing trans kids.

Amendment 15 from @ErinForYall addresses an actual crisis in girls' sports - abuses of power - by requiring teachers and coaches in all schools to be trained on recognizing signs of physical and sexual abuse.

@ErinForYall "If our goal is really to protect opportunities for women and girls, and if our goal is not to harm trans children or to make trans children feel othered in their communities, everyone of you should vote for this amendment." Rep Zwiener

@ErinForYall But Rep Vasut has brought a Point of Order (remember that's a POO 💩) saying it isn't germane to the bill.

correction! amendment on the bill.

If the bill fails, we will certainly cheer.

@ErinForYall The POO is "well-taken and sustained" and that really important amendment to protect girls from sports will not be considered because it's not germane to the bill.

.@CeliaIsrael presents an amendment that would change the bill to allow kids to participate with approval of their individual coach, because a coach is the best judge of the athlete's needs (even outside of sports), skills, abilities, and impact on the team.

@CeliaIsrael Swanson objects saying it would be disastrous to leave these decisions to coaches whose pay depends on winning and would have a conflict of interest.

Should we tap @TedLasso to explain what coaches do here?

Swanson only wants compassionate coaches for cis girls. She repeatedly says the 332,000 currently playing are her biggest concern.

The amendment fails, 62-78.

Amendment 17 is by @Jon_RosenthalTX to allow a principal of a school to give an exemption to the application of the bill.

Rep Tinderholt asks if Rosenthal is concerned about all of the "females that would be forced to play with these others."

Rep Rosenthal replies that he thinks the effects of the bill reach far beyond sports. Swanson speaks against the amendment saying "we need a level playing field and this amendment would take that away." She also believe principals would be unprincipled & care only about winning.

Swanson says it's hard to understand @RafaelAnchia as he asks her questions. He says "sorry, my first language was Spanish."
She says "it's the mask."
His reply, "Since you understood that clearly, I'll leave it on."
#protecttranskids

@RafaelAnchia Rep Anchia asks Swanson how many principals testified in favor of the bill? How many districts testified in favor of it? Like the "binder full of research," she says people contacted her and she respects their privacy.

@RafaelAnchia She says "this also polls well but I haven't gotten in that." Anchia replies that segregation probably polled really well, too, but we shouldn't legislate based on polls. And he offers a POO, which is quickly withdrawn.

Rep Rosenthal reminds that his amendment is about local control and closes, moving adoption.

The vote is 53-77 and the amendment fails.

Rep Anchia rises to bring his POO again, saying the minutes of the hearings do not reflect the complete records.

Now we wait, so...grab food and water, and call Speaker Phelan's office: 512-463-1000.

And that Point of Order has been withdrawn.

.@Jon_RosenthalTX now presents an amendment similar to the previous one, but instead of allowing a principal to make exceptions to the policy, it allows locally elected school boards to vote on exceptions to the policy.

@Jon_RosenthalTX Rep Swanson just says she objects, so Rep Rosenthal says "since there is no substantive objection, I respectfully ask you to pass it." But by a vote of 57-80, it fails.

Rep Morales-Shaw (@VotePennyShaw) steps up to offer an amendment and before she can even get to the mic, a point of order is submitted against it.

@VotePennyShaw The POO and amendment are both withdrawn. Now we'll never know!!!

.@moodyforelpaso immediately brings a POO that the bill analysis is incomplete and misleading.

@moodyforelpaso While we wait, take 3 minutes to watch people show up to support trans kids at the candlelight vigil Tuesday night. A good cry might make the next few hours a little better. vimeo.com/632173133

@moodyforelpaso And Rep Moody's Point of Order is withdrawn.

.@GinaForAustin
presents a new POO because a bill cannot be referred to more than one committee at once.

@GinaForAustin Hinojosa's POO was that HB10 and HB25 were identical and should have been referred to the same committee. That POO was "respectfully overruled."

Rep Hinojosa now presents an amendment that would preclude application of this law to children with depression, anxiety or who are at risk for suicide. If parents & school officials see that as a risk, it would allow them to participate to benefit their mental health.

To support this amendment, Rep Israel cites the Texas-specific data from @TrevorProject of more than 10,800 crisis calls from LGBTQ+ youth Jan1-Aug31 2021, a 150% increase compared to the same dates in 2020, with callers mentioning anti-LGBTQ legislation.

"If the very least we can do to help the reduce their stress and anxiety or reduce the chance of suicide is to #LetKidsPlay, why wouldn't we?"
Swanson objects and says "think about the girls who would be hurt by this."
Hinojosa: "I don't know how anyone would be hurt by this."

Clerk rings the bell for the vote. And the amendment fails by a vote of 52-78.

These are all record votes, meaning names are connected to each and every yay or nay. #FYI

Chair @RepHaroldDutton proposes a "Don't look in my pants" amendment, so that a birth certificate would be all that is required to determine a student athlete's gender.

@RepHaroldDutton Swanson says she objects because the way the amendment is written might mess up the carefully crafted language about which BC would be accepted. Zwiener says the language is already messed up by the vote to approve Slaton's amendment defining "sex" as chromosomes/genitals.

@RepHaroldDutton Rep Zwiener asks Rep Swanson to slow down if she is concerned about the language is being muddied. Swanson says she might have considered that if we hadn't had so many amendments and POOs today.

She seems impatient because other Reps are trying to #ProtectTransKids.

@RepHaroldDutton Chair Dutton closes by saying his amendment is designed to clarify legislative intent and he doesn't understand what is confusing about the language to the bill's author. BC's should be enough to determine which team you play on, not looking in any child's pants.

@RepHaroldDutton And the vote for this amendment is in. Chair Dutton's "Don't look in my pants" amendment fails 54-77.

.@DonnaHowardTX proposes an amendment that protects the privacy of personal medical information of any youth registering to play sports.

Republican Rep @TomOliverson steps up to support the amendment.

@DonnaHowardTX @TomOliverson Dr. Oliverson explains that the amendment cites both HIPAA and Texas Code about private medical information that mirrors HIPAA.

Rep Howard's amendment passes by a vote of 121-8.

.@DiegoBernalTX comes up to speak against #HB25. He says he admits that he still doesn't really know how to wrap his head around being transgender, but he does know kids. He's on the Pub Ed committee and has heard no testimony that trans kids in sports is a problem.

@DiegoBernalTX He continues that some Reps can't wrap their heads around knowing that there is no problem but there is *real* harm to trans kids, and for whatever reason, that's not enough to stop moving these bills.

@DiegoBernalTX He's heard "if they already have mental health issues and suicide ideation, this can't make it worse" and "if the debate is harming them, let's just vote." Now he breaks down the Texas statute's definition of bullying, without saying what it is...

@DiegoBernalTX Rep Bernal: "The bullying statute doesn't have an intent requirement. It doesn't matter if you don't mean to cause them harm. We are bullying these students. Know that by law...our own definitions and our own words, we are. And we don't have to."

Rep Morales Shaw: "They may be able to stop you from playing on a team, but they can't stop you from being you. I want to say to trans children...you are right, they are wrong, and some of us stand with you and always will."

.@Ramos4Texas shares some of the calls about bullying, harassment, and even assault that we have received during the last few months. She says "this not only spreads hate among others but inside trans kids themselves".

https://twitter.com/EqualityTexas/status/1445772593718464527

.@ChrisGTurner says he believes the bill will pass, but he also believes that many who will vote for it don't actually believe in it. They believe in getting votes, but children are the ones who will suffer in the end.

.@VoteAnnJohnson talks about the committee hearing last week when a young man testified to defend his sister against "boys" in girls' sports. She asked him where his outrage came from and he said it was because he had read about a wrestler...

@VoteAnnJohnson That story was about Mack Beggs, a trans boy forced to wrestle girls by current UIL rules and #HB25. Even after explaining that Mack is trans, not a cisgender boy wrestling against girls just to win, a friend of that young man said he wouldn't change his support of the bill...

@VoteAnnJohnson "Once I have my beliefs, I stick by them" is what he said. She says too many people in the #TXlege are falling into that trap. We need to listen to one another and not dig in our heels. She then quotes Liz Chaney saying "I was wrong" recently about marriage equality.

@VoteAnnJohnson She says "I understand the position you are in politically, but when you go home to put your head on your pillow, or when your grand baby comes out, at some point your heart will burst, and you'll remember the vote you made tonight."

.@Jon_RosenthalTX says this bill is personal and bills like this foment fear and hate. While #HB25 doesn't solve a real problem, it certainly creates one for so many in the LGBTQ+ community. And it will hurt someone they all love, whether they know it or not.

There is a real emotional heaviness on the floor right now with all of these speeches against the bill (and in homes where people are watching and listening). This is a hard, hard few minutes.

.@CeliaIsrael struggles through that emotion to speak. She talks about the damage and pain the anti-trans bills are causing, recalls the time when she was 17 and considered suicide herself, because she wanted that pain to end. She has higher expectations of her colleagues.

.@jamestalarico begins by apologizing to the trans kids and families who have gone to the Capitol time and time again this year. He speaks now as a legislator, and educator, and a Christian. He quotes Swanson as saying "if one girl wins a game, it's worth it."

@jamestalarico He says he has a different moral yardstick. "If one trans kid dies for a trophy, this bill is grotesque."

@jamestalarico He ends speaking to his "fellow believers" in the chamber. The worst part in these hearings have been in hearing the Bible used against trans kids to support these bills. Even tonight, "God's law" was used to present an amendment.

@jamestalarico He quotes the first 2 lines of the Bible, where God is referred to with two different Hebrew words, one masculine/one feminine. "God is nonbinary." He prevents an interruption and continues by telling trans kids that he loves them.

.@ErinForYall gives a brief vocabulary lesson and says the kind of petty and snarky responses from people who pretended they didn't know what those words meant tonight was one of the most disrespectful things she has ever seen.

@ErinForYall Rep Zwiener says "not in my name" as a former student athlete, as a sexual assault survivor, and as a women. Trans girls are girls, trans boys are boys, trans women are women, and trans men are men. Period.

@ErinForYall "If this bill was about protecting girls in sports, the author would not have dodged every question about funding of girls' sports or about preventing sexual abuse and they wouldn't have called cis Olympic athletes 'men'."

@ErinForYall Rep Tinderholt says that some of the things said in the last 20 minutes have been disrespectful and asks that the Speaker remind people "not to engage in personalities."

Now Rep Shaefer reads from Genesis about God creating "male & female" so we'll point out once again that many theologians preach night/day includes sunrises & sunsets, land/sea includes shifting tides & marshes — nonbinary things. So male/female is also wondrously not a binary.

.@moodyforelpaso says this isn't about sports; it's a culture war. And wars have casualties. Amendments to mitigate harm to trans kids were shot down. That shows him that harming trans kids isn't a bug in the legislation, it's part of the plan.

@moodyforelpaso He also speaks to trans kids directly. "We see you. We love you. We are fighting for you. You aren't alone."

@moodyforelpaso .@jessicafortexas comes to the mic to ask how many trans Texas kids they are willing to hurt. She reminds representatives that cisgender women/girls will also be hurt by #HB25.

@jessicafortexas She shares a personal story about being outed in high school by a friend, having her locker, home, and car vandalized and losing all of her friends. "Kids are cruel."

@jessicafortexas Later her brother encouraged her to try out for soccer, and she was bullied with comments like "shouldn't she be trying out for the boys' team." She went from feeling a bit accepted to being an outsider again.

@jessicafortexas She talks about carrying those feelings into adulthood and says that this bill will have long-term affects on trans kids. She asked legislators to listen to the stories of the trans kids who have bravely testified, saying kids will contemplate suicide or complete suicide.

@jessicafortexas She quotes 8yo Sunny's testimony from last week. You can watch Sunny's testimony here:

Rep Swanson steps up to close #HB25, whispering to others "are y'all ready for the photographers" before she makes her short closing remarks.

And with that, #HB25 passes the full House of the #TXlege by a vote of 76-54.

We will not stop fighting to protect transgender children.

We’ll continue to educate lawmakers — replacing misinformation with real stories — and demand the statewide and federal nondiscrimination protections we need to prevent further harms.