Zeroing in on a GOP campaign issue, “preserving women's sports was a big deal in this election cycle,” noted Utah state Rep. Kera Birkeland.
Transgender rights figured prominently in campaign rallies for former President Donald Trump and TV attack ads against Vice President Kamala Harris. In the end, Trump won the election.
When asked if support for transgender rights had gone too far, or not far enough, Utah voters who backed Harris, by a 7 to 1 margin said not far enough. The state’s Trump voters were an emphatic mirror opposite — 28 to 1 said too far. Nationally for Trump voters, the margin was 6 to 1 according to the Associated Press.
To Birkeland, the sponsor of Utah laws that define both transgender school sports participation — which is tied up in court — and bathroom access, it isn’t about whether protections have gone too far or not enough. Rather, it’s that “women's rights are being erased, that women are going to start taking more and more of a back seat to men who identify and are now women.”
She sees that when transgender women are allowed to play on women’s sports teams. With the sports bill blocked by a judge, a School Activity Eligibility Commission has taken its place. Trans girls have to seek the commission’s permission if they want to play on a girls’ team.
Advocates argued it would harm transgender youth, but Birkeland said while they want to ensure transgender people are constitutionally protected, “we cannot and should not be giving more rights to some people over other people.”
Ahead of the 2025 legislative session, which starts on Jan. 21, Birkeland said her priorities are helping senior citizens and those with terminal illnesses. And she isn’t planning further transgender legislation.
There are discussions, she said, about “what could or should be done to help” young intersex athletes — those who are born with chromosomes or reproductive organs that don’t fit into typical male and female categories.
Aaron Welcher, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Utah, said he’s heard from those who might say transgender rights have gone too far, but in a different sense.
“People wanted the [state] Legislature to be focused on other issues” instead of “the sports question,” he said.
Their current legal battle against the sports law is that it violates the state’s constitution “because it discriminates against every trans girl in Utah,” said Welcher.
Even though Birkeland doesn’t have legislation related to transgender issues planned for the upcoming session, Welcher is wary of what he sees as more subtle attacks like book bans targeting LGBTQ+ works and crackdowns on protests.
“This is a civil rights and liberties issue, and that is everyone's topic,” he said.
Birkeland said she’s also spoken with lawmakers across the country interested in Utah’s law and possibly setting up a similar commission at a national level.
To young trans girls who want to play on girls’ teams, Birkeland said “it’s tough” but “fairness is really an issue that a lot of people struggle with when it comes to athletic competition.”
Transgender girls, she said, can still participate on boys’ or coed teams.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
