Entering the new year, Republican-controlled state legislatures plan to forward critical legislation surrounding transgender issues, Politico reported on Wednesday.
For example, Republican lawmaker Danny Verdin of South Carolina filed a joint resolution this month that would amend the state constitution to exclusively define male and female "in the context of reproductive potential."
If the proposed amendment advances through the Legislature, a version will appear on voters' ballots in the 2024 general election. Meanwhile, Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., is pushing a similar measure to define "sex" in federal law as assigned at birth.
But other GOP state lawmakers are leaning into different angles surrounding the gender issue. One of those proposals is the so-called "Women's Bill of Rights" legislation.
"We need to have a common language and know what we're talking about to protect women's rights," said Independent Women's Forum president Carrie Lukas. "Right now, there's tremendous confusion and concern and a lot of conflict about when women's only programs or spaces are allowed, and it shouldn't be this way."
The group is focused on several statehouses in 2023, notably: Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Dakota, and Kansas. Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, an advocate for fairness in women's sports, has also joined the team.
At the same time, Devon Ojeda of the National Center for Transgender Equality has criticized the multistate effort from Republicans and conservative organizations.
"This trend of trying to define what gender and sex is not a new one. What's new now is that they're trying to push it in a legal sense," Ojeda said, adding that people "define women in different ways, and I think it will go beyond just excluding trans people.
"This hurts everybody because everybody deserves access to gender-affirming care," the NCTE national organizer continued. "Everybody deserves to get to shape their identity."
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