Source: Politics<\/p>\n
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 The Republican-controlled Florida Senate appears to be abandoning a controversial transgender sports ban, a development that would hand LGBTQ activists and Democrats a huge victory.<\/p>\n
The bill, which specifies that K-12 and college sports teams must be designated based on \u201cbiological\u201d sex while charging state agencies with crafting policies to hash out gender disputes, was condemned by the LGBTQ community and lawmakers who viewed the measure as discriminatory toward transgender students.<\/p>\n
“Ding dong the witch is dead,” tweeted state Sen. Janet Cruz<\/a> (D-Tampa), a critic of the bill. “Rip Transgender bill.”<\/p>\n The issue was magnified last week when the NCAA put states like Florida on notice<\/a> just before the Florida House voted for the measure, warning that locations that don\u2019t treat all student athletes with \u201cdignity and respect\u201d could be ineligible to host future championship games.<\/p>\n A top Senate panel on Tuesday put off considering the ban, a move that signals the upper chamber is reluctant to move forward with the bill. The proposal\u2019s sponsor, powerful Senate budget chief Kelli Stargel, said her attention will be on finishing the state budget with less than two weeks left in session.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, my primary focus as Appropriations Chair is our constitutional responsibility to pass a balanced budget,\u201d Stargel, a Lakeland Republican, said in statement to POLITICO. \u201cAnd in a time-limited environment, I don\u2019t know that we will have sufficient time to revisit SB 2012 this session.\u201d<\/p>\n The Florida House approved its transgender sports bill<\/a>, dubbed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, on April 14 by a 77-40 mostly party-line vote, with all but one Democrat opposing.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s GOP lawmakers contend the bill is needed to protect the sanctity of women\u2019s sports, following the path of more than 20 other GOP-leaning states<\/a> that are using the issue to limit transgender rights. The measure has been a priority for the GOP-led House, which this legislative session has pushed several bills that thrust lawmakers into the nation\u2019s culture wars, including measures aimed at cracking down on social media companies and anti-riot legislation.<\/p>\n Opponents of the transgender ban argue it would only \u201clegalize bullying\u201d for transgender students.<\/p>\n