Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said the concern is real about transgender athletes competing with girls.
"As a parent of a daughter, I think it's legitimate that parents are worried about the safety of their daughters, and I think it's legitimate for us to be worried also about fair competition," Gallego told The Dispatch. "And I think the parents of these trans children also are worried legitimately about the health and wellness of their kids."
Gallego said he believes there are some trans athletes should not be competing with girls, but it should be up to school boards and other local institutions to decide. He told The Dispatch there needs to be compassion toward trans students.
"Hey, listen, we love you. We want you to be part of our community, but this is just the one place you can't play, and let's find other activities for you to be involved," Gallego said.
While serving in the House of Representatives, Gallego supported the Equality Act, which would add "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" as protected classes under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, The Dispatch reported.
Gallego said he'd "have to go back and look at" the Equality Act.
"When we passed the Equality Act, I think we were trying to again establish the largest amount of umbrella," he told The Dispatch.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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