Massachusetts House Democrats Thwart Republican Bid to Ban Transgender Athletes

By Sam Drysdale

House Democrats used a procedural maneuver on Wednesday that essentially put on ice a freshman Republican’s push to ban transgender students from playing sports on teams consistent with their gender identity.

Rep. John Gaskey filed the amendment to a fiscal 2025 spending bill that invests in education and the MBTA.

The Carver Republican’s plan would ban public schools from allowing “a male student-athlete to participate on a girls’ sports team” or “a female athlete to participate on a boys sports team,” according to the amendment. Any school found not in compliance would forfeit all games where the transgender student participated.

When the amendment came up for a vote during Wednesday’s House session, the House chair of the Joint Committee on Education Rep. Ken Gordon called out to be recognized to speak. He filed a further amendment to Gaskey’s proposal calling for a study, a tactic sometimes deployed to undercut amendments.  

Gordon said the topic of transgender student-athletes “is not a simple one” and deserves a public hearing before any decisions are made.

“The topic of the amendment is complex, involving issues of federal and state law. It is a matter of concern to residents of the commonwealth who have expressed concern from both sides of the issue,” he said.

The Bedford Democrat later added, “We don’t even know how many students will be affected, will be impacted by this amendment. We will work with our colleagues at [the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] as they analyze the related policy for student athletes and their families and seek to better understand these issues.”

Gordon’s further amendment wouldn’t allow Gaskey’s plan to take effect until DESE has analyzed the policy, essentially burying it in a study order. Gov. Maura Healey’s Executive Office of Education oversees the K-12 department. Healey is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, consistently calling it a priority for her administration.

In his first speech on the floor of the House, Gaskey called Gordon’s maneuver “a way to bury this and make sure that nobody ever gets this on the record.”

“We don’t need a study on how this is going to affect people,” he said, “we already know this is going to affect people. We already know how many students are going to be affected — every student is going to be affected. Every student-athlete will play on the team they were born to play on. That’s what this bill is.”

Gaskey said the policy would bring Massachusetts in line with the federal government. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports.

“It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.  It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth,” says a White House release about the order.

Gordon’s further amendment and Gaskey’s underlying proposal, as changed by the further amendment, were adopted on a voice vote with about 50 representatives in the chamber.