People debating on LGBT rights? Not new. Will never be new. However, Arizona’s decision to ban transgender females from girl’s sports all-together is definitely a very.. bold decision. 

   In a Microsoft article authored by Andrew Oxford and the Arizona Republic states, “...and intermural leagues to designate sports as co-educational, male or female based on what the law terms ‘biological sex’. Teams or sports designated as ‘female’ would be closed ‘to students of the male sex’.”

   Okay. This is something I disagree with. The word transgender literally means, ‘transitioning into another sex’, whether you like it or not. When a person is transgender, which in this case, is a male transitioning into female, they are whatever gender they want to be. Yes, maybe the person does have some parts that resemble a biological male. However, the mindset is female. The person, the body, will act more like a female. This is basic human respect, and the people whom approved of this ban is losing it. 

   Another snippet from the same article says, “If disputed, an athlete could establish their sex through a genetic test.” The person who stated this also said that the test needs to include “internal and external reproductive anatomy” statement from a doctor. I don’t know what they’re trying to prove here- it’s quite baffling, if you ask me. 

   They also state something about how “Shotputs are heavier for boys.” and “Girl’s basketballs are smaller.” This logic, if I could call it that, makes no logical sense at all. Using this ‘logic’, or whatever it is, perhaps you could ban all the stronger-than-average females and the taller-than-average from the basketball teams. Because their only concern here seems to be about the different strengths.

   Charlene Fernandez, Minority Leader, says, “We’re policing gender.” Yes, I just love it when humans police something that’s supposed to be a personal thing. What is there to police about, for gender? Gender is not a law, it’s a right and it’s a matter of respect.

   She also states, “We’re trying to decide if that person is feminine enough or not feminine enough and we’re using that to justify subjecting our transgender athletes to additional barriers to participating in sports.” 

   Again, this utter logic-less ‘logic’. You could hardly call the transgender people “ours” because you passed such a rough ban on them. This ban basically abandons their rights. If you’re trying to justify, you should try to do it without passing a disrespectful and destroying ban. Like I said before, this logic results in all of the stronger-than-average females being banned from sports groups too.

   Finally, if you’re justifying something like this, and must pass a ban- pass it on the Olympic teams. Because it’s utterly unjust for you to pass it on every single school there is in Arizona. Public and private. 

   In conclusion: this ban that Arizona passed is a more perplex way of saying, “let’s get rid of the rights of transgender people.” Sports is a human right. Joining sports teams is a human right. Transgender people are humans, and passing that ban disrespects some basic human rights. I was appalled when I first saw this news, and I thought, I had to do something to it. To change it, to let humans have human rights. 

   I am sharing this because this is one of the most basic human rights, choosing whether to be in a sports team or not. I support this human right. I hope you do, too.