SAN DIEGO — Transgender and nonbinary residents and activists spoke out at Tuesday’s county Board of Supervisors meeting, where the board failed to advance an endorsement of a proposed federal law blocking transgender females from competing in women’s sports.
With Supervisor Joel Anderson absent due to illness and only three supervisors present, the proposal died for lack of a second to the motion made by Supervisor Jim Desmond.
Desmond’s proposed resolution stated that the county supports the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” known as HR 28, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 14 and is now awaiting approval from the Senate.
President Donald Trump has also issued an executive order enforcing this ban.
The federal Act states that it is a violation of Title IX for federally-funded programs to allow “individuals of the male sex” to participate in women’s and girls’ athletic programs and notes that sex should be determined based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
“I believe that males, however they identify, should not be competing in women’s sports. This is common sense,” said Desmond, who recently announced his campaign for the 49th Congressional District. “My request is that we support HR 28 as it moves through Congress.”
The Republican supervisor’s motion comes amid a wave of anti-transgender policies and rhetoric throughout the United States in recent years, particularly impacting transgender youth.
In the past month, Trump issued executive orders banning gender-affirming care for individuals under 19, prohibiting transgender people from serving in the military, and declaring that the federal government legally recognizes only two genders.
California law, however, states that athletes can participate in sports as whatever gender they identify with. Last week, the California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school sports, said they will continue to follow California law despite Trump’s executive order.
“We are spending our time actively looking to discriminate against the trans community. That’s what we’re doing right now,” Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe said. “I just believe we have a lot better things to do.”
An alternative motion by Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer to support equal pay for women resulted in a 2-1 vote, with Desmond opposed and Montgomery Steppe in favor.
Topic of controversy
The item drew dozens of impassioned public comments. A majority of speakers urged the board to reject the resolution, saying it contradicts state policy and discriminates against a small group of people.
Simone Guzman, a transgender individual living in Desmond’s district, said the board should be focusing on protecting youth in schools from targeted legislative attacks rather than attacking their civil rights.
“To my supervisor, it is so disheartening to see that you continue to attack so many of our communities,” Guzman said.
Speakers also noted that HR 28 violates the privacy of all girls participating in sports who may not conform to traditional femininity, as it is unclear how these rules would be enforced without being invasive.
“All girls in sports will be less safe if they have to worry about their gender being investigated,” said Kelly Knufken.
Residents who supported the motion argued that allowing transgender girls to participate in women’s and girls’ sports is dangerous and unfair for girls, claiming that transgender girls have an athletic advantage that can result in injury for other players.
“Although transitioning biological males have relatively lower levels of testosterone than they originally had, their advantages continue,” said Brita Lindstrom. “Please ensure equitable access to athletic opportunities for girls and women.”
Marci Strange of the Del Mar-based Taxpayers Oversight for Parents and Students said that, as a gay woman, she was asking the board to support not allowing biological males in women’s and girl’s spaces for competitive sports.
“Sex and money are the primary explanations for this widespread abuse of females,” she added.
A North County woman who described herself as a registered nurse said the San Diego region should respect Trump’s executive order.
“Every day, my daughter in middle school and all of the other girls in her P.E. class are forced to change in a gym room with a confused biological boy that is now identifying as a girl,” the woman said.
She said those girls are told to be tolerant and kind to him while ignoring their discomfort.
“By doing this, you are silencing our daughters; you’re telling them that their rights don’t matter,” the woman said.
Opponents, however, said federal laws banning transgender athletes were rooted in bigotry and ignorance.
Rev. Lenny Duncan of Coffee and Class Solidarity in the Hillcrest neighborhood said the board letter was a dishonest political attempt. Duncan accused Desmond of caring more about messages of fear and intimidation.
Cori Schumacher, a long-board world surfing champion, activist and former Carlsbad City Council member, said the board letter was draconian, patronizing, and distracted from more significant issues.
“We do not need your protection,” Schumacher said. “We need protection from your Christofascist values.”
Lawson-Remer, who identifies as nonbinary, said the board letter “makes no sense — it’s not based on science, it’s not based on facts,” and that the resolution expressly targets a vulnerable minority and is a distraction from other issues that need the county’s attention.
Lawson-Remer said there are significant problems in women’s sports, especially in terms of unequal prize money and salaries, even as interest in female sporting events grows in popularity.
“Yes, we need to be fighting for equality in women’s sports, and we need to be continuing to fight to protect women’s rights, including our reproductive health, but not furthering legislation that scapegoats the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our community in order to distract and divide from the real issues that working families face,” Lawson-Remer said.
‘We have always existed’
Before the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced a policy on Feb. 6 banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports effective immediately (restricting competition in women’s sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only), leadership estimated that among approximately 500,000 student-athletes, around 10 are transgender.
Despite these low numbers, transgender athletes have been the focus of national scrutiny.
This past year, the San Jose State University volleyball team faced heavy pushback for allowing an allegedly transgender player on its roster, with several teams in the Mountain West Conference refusing to participate in matches. San Diego State University was one of a few teams that agreed to play.
A group of players on the San Jose State team later sued the conference, seeking to remove the transgender player from the team, but a judge denied their request.
In 2022, former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA D1 championship, found herself at the center of a national debate about transgender women in sports after competing on the women’s swimming team.
California Assemblymember Kate Sanchez introduced a bill similar to HR 28, but it is unlikely to pass due to the Democratic majority in the legislature.
Resident David Vance, who is nonbinary, said proposed laws like this are based on ignorance and are intended to scapegoat vulnerable communities.
“We are perfect and beautiful just the way we are. We are the experts on who we are. We have always existed, and we will always exist, and no elected official can erase us with the stroke of a pen,” Vance said on Tuesday.
City News Service contributed to this report.
