Democrats on Capitol Hill dismissed biological boys competing in girls sports as a non-issue after a Republican-led bill banning transgender athletes from female sports passed in the House.
"Two weeks of traveling around Virginia, nobody asked me about this," Sen. Tim Kaine told Fox News, "This is not what is on folks' minds."
"This is an issue that’s getting a lot of attention in some media," he added. "It’s not what Virginians are worried about."
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The Protection of Women and Girls Sports Act passed along party lines last week and would prevent biological males who identify as girls from competing in female sports at schools that receive Title IX funding. The bill's supporters argue that biological males have an unfair advantage and can prevent girls from making teams or winning.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, who opposed the bill, said it would "violate the privacy of our kids for something that is not even a thing."
"You’re more likely to have your kid play with a future NBA All-Star than have to deal with what Republicans are suggesting is going on," the California Democrat added.
Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada said she opposed the bill because she supports "things that do more to encourage women to participate in sports, not less."
Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont called the bill "incredibly insensitive" and added that it "does not address real concerns of girls in sports."
"I think we might be creating an issue that isn’t really there," Rep. Glenn Ivey told Fox News. He said that determining when transgender athletes can compete in girls sports should be done on a case-by-case basis.
Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas said he voted against the bill, calling it "mean."
"I think that all of this meanness, this nastiness, this discrimination, I think that it needs to stop," he said. "I think that Democrats and Republicans, we need to finally get to a place in this country where we are not debating things that are so divisive around things like gender and race."
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Instead, the two parties should "have debates over things like taxes and things like that we disagree on instead of always looking for that southern strategy edge for so many different things," he continued. "I think it’s terrible and I think it’s bad for the country."
Rep. Donald Norcross of New Jersey declined to answer questions on the issue. He told Fox News he's focused on "making sure people have jobs."
Click here to see what Democrats on Capitol Hill had to say about transgender athletes in girls sports.
