Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed laws defining the phrase intercourse in state legislation, turning into the second state this 12 months to offer a solution to the more and more polarizing query, “What is a woman?”
Senate Bill 1440, which was signed Wednesday, clarifies that intercourse means “a person’s immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth,” letting the state Legislature draw clear sex-based distinctions in areas comparable to public lodging and scholastic sports.
“Unfortunately, we have reached a point in society where common words like man or woman, male or female, boy or girl have come under attack,” mentioned Republican state Rep. Gino Bulso, the invoice’s House sponsor.
Members of the Biden administration have been stumped throughout congressional hearings after being requested to outline “woman” by Republican lawmakers amid the rise of the gender-identity motion.
“I am proud to have sponsored legislation to amend the Tennessee code to define the biological term sex to ensure that our laws are crystal clear so that judges and bureaucrats understand the biological and genetic differences between a man and a woman,” mentioned Mr. Bulso.
Opposing the measure had been LGBTQ advocates who argued that the measure discriminates towards transgender individuals in search of authorized recognition and entry to amenities and classes primarily based on gender identification versus organic intercourse.
“Let’s be clear: The goal of this bill is to exclude the LGBTQ+ community from nondiscrimination protections in the state of Tennessee and to perpetuate a false narrative of who transgender people are,” mentioned Human Rights Campaign authorized director Sarah Warbelow after the invoice handed the Senate.
Critics have blasted the “sex designation” payments as the most recent in a wave of “anti-transgender” measures shifting by means of GOP state legislatures, which embody payments barring gender-transition therapies for minors and prohibiting organic males from competing in feminine scholastic sports.
Last month, Kansas grew to become the primary state to enact biologically primarily based intercourse definitions into legislation after the Republican-led Legislature overrode Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the Women’s Bill of Rights.
A Montana invoice defining female and male primarily based on chromosomes and reproductive biology is awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte.
BREAKING: Tennessee is aware of what a girl is!
Gov. Lee has signed Women’s Bill of Rights-inspired laws into legislation, defining sex-based phrases — like ‘woman’, ‘sex’, ‘male’ — and making use of the biology-based definition throughout TN state code.https://t.co/o8me0A96ok pic.twitter.com/Wia6PQeM5q</ a>
— Independent Women’s Voice (@IWV) May 18, 2023
The payments had been impressed by the Women’s Bill of Rights, a doc drafted in March 2022 as mannequin laws by the right-tilting Independent Women’s Voice and Independent Women’s Law Center in collaboration with the left-tilting Women’s Liberation Front.
“At IW, we know what a woman is. And we are proud that Tennessee lawmakers do too,” mentioned Jennifer C. Braceras, the legislation heart’s director.
The LGBTQ group Trans Formation, which tracks state laws, mentioned “sex designation” payments “make it harder for trans folks to have IDs, such as birth certificates, match their gender identity.”
The Tennessee invoice’s fiscal affect assertion mentioned the measure may jeopardize federal grant funding if it locations the state “out of compliance with federal requirements,” however Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti defended the measure.
He mentioned the newly signed invoice “codifies the long-established understanding that when the law refers to a person’s sex, it means their biological sex.” The laws takes impact July 1.
“Passage of the Women’s Bill of Rights by the General Assembly and Governor Lee ensures continued protection of educational opportunities and privacy rights for girls and women,” mentioned Mr. Skrmetti.
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