A Washington State Democrat lawmaker has argued that banning men from women’s sports is comparable to racial segregation.
The claim was made by State Rep. Kristine Reeves.
Reeves claims that Republicans who support legislation to ban male athletes from girls and women’s sports are “making a lot of the same arguments today” as advocates of racial segregation laws once did.
The Democrat spoke during an executive session of the House Education Committee on Thursday morning.
During the session, members of the committee introduced SB 5123.
The bill aims to expand protections for students, including “gender expression” and “gender identity.”
“I recall a time in our country’s history not that long ago … where people like my grandfather were told that they could not participate in sporting activities because he was black man,” Reeves spoke following a proposed amendment to the bill.
“I can recall a time in our country’s history, Madam Chair, where people like my grandfather and my great-great grandfather were not allowed to participate in processes and places in our society because of the color of their skin because people for years – for generations – had told our society that black people were less than human,