An influential liberal think tank is urging Democrats to stand firm on supporting transgender people serving in the military and gender-transition care for youths but also to accept some restrictions on transgender athletes.
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The Center for American Progress (CAP), which has long informed the Democratic Party’s policy positions, released a paper Wednesday to guide the party on how to respond to GOP pressure on LGBTQ+ issues.
Polls show most Americans agree that transgender female athletes should not be able to play on girls and women’s teams, and Republicans often attack Democrats as out of step on the issue.
The think tank says decisions involving transgender athletes should be left to schools and sports groups, an approach many Democrats already take. But the CAP paper explicitly says restrictions on transgender participation “may be appropriate” and that “all athletes deserve fair competition and a level playing field.”
“We hope that this lowers the temperature and lets us come out of this really scary moment for folks,” said Caleb Smith, CAP’s director of LGBTQI+ policy, who is transgender and a co-author of the paper.
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Transgender participation in sports has again come up on the campaign trail in the midterm elections, and Democrats have been divided on how best to respond.
Charlotte Clymer, a transgender activist and writer, said Democrats who default to sports group rules are operating “under the false assumption” that those groups would make reasonable science-based decisions. “It’s a cop-out,” Clymer said.
Last month, Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton said she does not “support boys playing in girls sports,” prompting backlash from Democratic advocacy groups and liberal state lawmakers who said she was dismissive of the identities of trans people.
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