Former Olympian and transgender reality star Caitlyn Jenner said she does not believe 'biological boys who are trans' should compete in girls' sports in school.
In a brief interview with TMZ in Malibu as she was getting into her car, Jenner, who recently announced her bid to run for Governor of California, said: 'This is a question of fairness, that's why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls' sports in school.
'It just isn't fair and we have to protect girls' sports in our schools.'
When asked by the reporter whether it 'delegitimized the identity of trans girls', she cut the talk short and replied: 'Have a good day.'
After the TMZ article was published, Jenner shared it on Twitter and said she 'didn't expect to get asked this' on her Saturday morning coffee run.
'But I'm clear about where I stand. It's an issue of fairness and we need to protect girls' sports in our schools,' she wrote.
Jenner gave a brief interview with TMZ in Malibu as she was getting into her car
Jenner, who recently announced her bid to run for Governor of California , said: 'This is a question of fairness'
She said she opposes 'biological boys who are trans competing in girls' sports in school'
When asked by the reporter whether it 'delegitimized the identity of trans girls', she cut the talk short
After the TMZ article was published, Jenner shared it on Twitter and said she 'didn't expect to get asked this' on her Saturday morning coffee run
It comes as multiple states, most recently Florida, move towards banning transgender girls and women from playing in public sports teams.
Jenner, 71, who is transgender, is a registered Republican and voted for Trump in 2016 but not in 2020, in protest against his position on transgender issues.
But her surprise opposition to trans girls competing in girls' sports will anger some members of the LGBTQ+ community, who have said they won't be backing her 'vanity campaign' for governor.
Caitlyn Jenner said she does not believe 'biological boys who are trans' should compete in girls' sports in school
Jenner recently announced her bid to run for Governor of California
Then known as Bruce Jenner, she is seen competing in the 1976 Olympics before he transitioned at the age of 65
Jenner said: 'This is a question of fairness, that's why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls' sports in school.' Pictured in this February 2019 photo are transgender athletes Terry Miller, second from left, and Andraya Yearwood, left
Cece Telfer, the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA title, is pictured left. Transgender high school athlete Andraya Yearwood is pictured right
The confirmation of her run sparked an instant backlash among the American public, celebrities and even the LGBTQ+ community.
Many people took to social media to say it is a 'hard pass' that they would vote for her while the phrase 'HELL NO' began trending.
Star Trek actor George Takei, who is gay, took to Twitter to make it 'clear' that he won't be voting for Jenner and comparing her standing in the LGBTQ community to that of Candace Owens in the black community and Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the disabled community.
'Black people wouldn't vote for Candace Owen for office. The disabled community wouldn't vote for Madison Cawthorn,' he tweeted.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill into law on Wednesday banning transgender athletes from competing in female sports.
When interviewed about it by MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle, Justice did not appear to be able to come up with a single example of a transgender athlete gaining an unfair advantage in sports in his state.
'Can you name one example of a transgender child trying to gain an unfair competitive advantage at a school there in West Virginia?' Ruhle asked Justice.
'Well, Stephanie, I don't have that experience exactly to myself right now,' Justice replied.
Ruhle pushed further: 'Not yourself, your state, sir. Can you give me one example of a transgender child trying to get an unfair advantage? Just one, in your state. You signed a bill about it.'
According to the Human Rights Campaign, West Virginia is one of at least 30 states that has introduced a slate of more than 200 'discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ legislation this session.'
'Of those, 120 directly target transgender people and about half of those (66 bills) would, like HB 329, ban transgender girls and women from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity,' the Human Rights Campaign said.
'Legislators across the country have failed to provide examples of issues in their states to attempt to justify these attacks, laying bare the reality that these are attacks on transgender youth that are fueled by discrimination and not supported by fact.'
Protestors in support of transgender rights march around the Alabama State House in Montgomery recently
Protesters said a bill proposed in Alabama bans surgeries in the state, which already are not performed on minors
Just one day later, the Florida Senate adopted an anti-transgender House amendment to SB 1028, an education related bill now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis - who has said he will sign the bill into law.
'Under the guise of an education bill, the Florida House and Senate rushed to pass SB 1028. Ultimately, this bill will not just hurt transgender kids; it will hurt all Floridians,' the Human Rights Campaign said.
'Because the consequences of this law — economic harm, expensive taxpayer-funded legal battles, and a tarnished reputation — will ripple across the state.'
Last Friday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a similar bill into law. Alabamans may also soon face felony charges for providing trans minors with hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery.
Alabama's Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act has been sent to the House where a companion bill has already passed a committee, CBS reported.
Violators could face felony charges with up to 10 years in prison or a $15,000 fine if signed into law. It would go into effect 30 days after it is signed by Ivey.
Alanna Smith (center), who filed the lawsuit with fellow athletes Selina Soule (left) and Chelsea Mitchell (right) appeared on Fox News with her lawyer to say girls have 'missed out' on placing on awards podiums after competing against 'biological males'
According to the bill's text, 'no person shall engage in, counsel, make a referral for, or cause' treatments to any person under the age of 19 to 'affirm the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex.'
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt, does not seem to specifically target medical workers providing the treatments. The bills' text defines a person as 'any individual.'
It also targets school officials, forcing them 'to provide for disclosure of certain information concerning students to parents,' specifically 'the fact that the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor's sex.'
The bill's text also has an ambiguous line noting that medical workers cannot 'remove any healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue,' without specificity on whether that provision applies just to genitalia.
However, the bill does make exceptions for people 'born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development' such as being 'born with external biological sex characteristics that are irresolvably ambiguous.'
In 2020, at least 37 transgender and gender non-conforming people were victims of fatal violence which is 'more than the Human Rights Campaign has recorded in any other year,' according to the advocacy group.
The Human Rights Campaign has tracked 202 cases of fatal violence against transgender and gender nonconforming people across 30 states and 113 cities in the United States since 2013.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, two new studies on suicide found an increase in suicide attempts 'by black teens and higher rates of attempts among transgender teens than their peers.'
Advocacy groups fear that banning trans athletes from competing in girls sports will lead to a rise in suicide cases.
Many states are pushing for bans on trans athletes competing in women's sports at the same time they are introducing bills to prevent gender-affirming treatment for trans girls, including hormone therapy. Some studies suggest that any advantage trans female athletes may have levels out when they begin hormone therapy.
Arkansas bill HB 1570, named the The Arkansas Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act (SAFE), was vetoed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson but the veto was overridden days later.
In Connecticut, one of just 17 states that allows high school athletes to compete in sports according to their gender identity without regulation, three high school track athletes have filed a lawsuit to block transgender athletes from competing.
The girls, who lost state titles to transgender athletes in 2018, claimed they were forced to compete against two transgender sprinters.
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation that expanded on last year's Supreme Court Bostock v. Clayton County ruling. which protected LGBTQ people in the workplace.
'It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex,' the court opinion reads.
Biden's order called on the head of each agency to consult with the Attorney General to review 'all existing orders, regulations, guidance documents, policies, programs' that relate to compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The order also called on officials to 'consider whether to revise, suspend, or rescind' agency actions or enact new agency actions 'as necessary to fully implement statutes that prohibit sex discrimination.'
'Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,' Biden wrote in the order.
On the Trans Day of Visibility on March 31, Biden issued a proclamation praising transgender individuals and communities who have fought for 'an increasingly accepting world.'
'Peers at school, teammates and coaches on the playing field, colleagues at work, and allies in every corner of society are standing in support and solidarity with the transgender community,' Biden said.
Jenner's run for governor has faced criticism from the trans community, who have called out past actions that they claim were detrimental to trans rights such as repeatedly supporting Trump and claiming he supported trans rights.
Jenner is a registered Republican and voted for Trump in 2016, and was seen walking out of a women's restroom in Trump Tower in New York City - appearing to indicate that Trump supported the trans community, Vox noted.
However, she later walked back her support of Trump in 2018 and said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post that 'the reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president.
She decided not to vote for Trump in 2020 in protest against his position on transgender issues.
Jenner, who may run as either a Republican or an Independent, announced her run for governor in April in a bid to claim the seat from Gavin Newsom less than a year after Kanye West lost his presidential bid - before Kim Kardashian ultimately filed for divorce from him.
Her campaign team includes controversial Trump aides such as Tony Fabrizio, a pollster who worked on both of Trump's campaigns, and Brad Parscale. Steven Cheung has also been tapped as a campaign adviser.
The recall election for California governor comes amid growing calls by Republicans to oust Governor Gavin Newsom.
If a Republican wins, it will be the first time they have held the state since 2003, when Arnold Schwarzenegger won.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose and businessman John Cox, who lost to Newsom in the 2018 governor´s race, are also running.
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