New York county lawmakers pass transgender athlete bill

Local New York lawmakers on Monday voted to pass a bill that would prohibit transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports at county-run facilities.

The legislature on Long Island’s Nassau County voted 12-5 in favor of the measure. The majority Republican lawmakers supported the bill, with two Democrats voting absent.

The approval represented a win for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. He first introduced the measure as an executive order, but the county’s Supreme Court ruled that he didn’t have the authority to introduce it as an executive order.

Blakeman ended up passing it through the legislature instead.

“I am gratified that the Republican Majority in the legislature voted in favor of this common sense measure to protect the integrity of women’s sports and the safety of women participants,” Blakeman said in a statement.

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The measure, which covers more than 100 sites just outside New York City, requires any teams, leagues or organizations that seek a permit from the county’s parks and recreation department to “expressly designate” whether they’re for male, female or coed athletes.

Any female teams or leagues will be denied permits if they allow transgender athletes to participate.

In March, Blakeman dispelled any notion that his measure was “transphobic.”

“Again, this is not transphobic. It’s not anti-transgender,” he told Fox News Digital. “Biological males who identify themselves as transgender females can compete against other biological males, or they can compete in coed leagues. Or if they wanted to form their own league, I would be happy to find a place for them to exercise their right to have recreation and enjoy sports and athletic competition.”

Fox News’ Tamara Gitt contributed to this report.

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