3 Just in... Kentucky joining
Utah and several other states -- banning transgender girls
from competing in girls sports.
This going down much like it
did here in the Beehive State.
Kenucky’s Governor vetoing the
bill -- and lawmakers
overriding that veto tonight.
This is a debate that has
dominated state legislatures
in the last two years. So,
how do those bills match up..
and what influence did outside
special interest groups have
in Utah? The KSL
Investigators set out to
compare the proposals.. and
see where Utah’s new law fits
in.
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3:24 - 3:314:15 - 4:204:36 -
4:43TRT: 4:46 Rep. Barbara
Ehardt , R-Idaho Falls: THIS
LITERALLY WAS A PRODUCT OF MY
PURSUIT."The national push to
bar transgender athletes from
girls sports began in Idaho in
2020. Republican Rep. Barbara
Ehardt says when she heard
about transgender sprinters
winning girls’ races in
Connecticut in 2018, she
wanted to make sure it didn’t
happen in her own state.
Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho
Falls: IT DAWNED ON ME THAT I
WAS THE PERSON THAT COULD DO
SOMETHING. AND SO I DECIDED TO
PURSUE THIS."After her bill
passed, other states were
quick to follow, including
Utah. Rep. Kera
Birkeland, R-Morgan : THESE
GIRLS HAVE A RIGHT UNDER TITLE
IX TO COMPETE WITH A FAIR
PLAYING FIELD.Utah Rep. Kera
Birkeland first sponsored a
bill in 2021 that failed.But
this year, her effort passed
in the final hours of the
session. Rep. Kera
Birkeland, R-Morgan: "WE HAVE
AN OBLIGATION, I FEEL LIKE, TO
GET IN FRONT OF IT"In Idaho,
Ehardt consulted Alliance
Defending Freedom, a
conservative Christian legal
group on her bill.And they
told her... Rep. Barbara
Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls: WE’RE
GOING TO TAKE YOUR ISSUE
ON"Knowing the special
interest group had a role in
bills across the country, KSL
Investigative producer Annie
Knox and I wanted to see how
closely the measures match up.
Using software designed to
check for plagiarism, we
compared bills in Utah and 36
other states against the Idaho
law... and we found a great
deal of similarities.A 2021
West Virginia proposal is
almost a carbon copy. You can
see that from the language
highlighted here. But the bill
that actually passed was much
less similar. word docsInitial
proposals in other states also
mirrored large portions of the
bill she introduced: New
Jersey 80% Mississippi 77%
Rhode Island 73%Those
similarities include word-for-
word references to "inherent
differences between men and
women" and a basis for
cisgender players to sue if
schools don’t abide. Utah’s
bill was different.The state’s
2021 proposal was a 9% match
to Idaho’s law. But the law
that passed in Utah this year?
Just 1%.Even though Birkeland
says she talked to ADF. Rep.
Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan: THEY
DID SEND ME SOME MODEL
LEGISLATION. AND WE MADE SOME
DRASTIC CHANGES TO IT, LIKE I
SAID, AND EVENTUALLY JUST KIND
OF WENT WITH OUR example, she
says she wanted to allow
transgender kids to be
practice players for girls’
teams, while ADF didn’t.
Political scientist Matthew
Burbank says it’s no secret
that lawmakers don’t always
craft their own proposals.
Matthew Burbank: "YOU KIND OF
THINK, WELL, THAT’S ODD THAT,
YOU KNOW, BOTH ALABAMA AND
UTAH AND NORTH DAKOTA ARE ALL
DEBATING THE SAME PIECE OF
LEGISLATION"14 states now have
a version of the law on the
books. University of Utah
political science professor
Matthew Burbank: "AND ALMOST
ALWAYS IT’S COMING THROUGH
THOSE CHANNELS OF SOMEBODY
PUSHING MODEL LEGISLATION.So
why is it important to know
who is behind legislation?
Burbank says for one, it’s
hard to know who is backing
the efforts. University of
Utah political science
professor Matthew Burbank:
"GIVEN THE NATURE OF INTEREST
GROUPS, AS OPPOSED TO CAMPAIGN
FINANCING, RIGHT, KNOWING
EXACTLY HOW THOSE ARE FINANCED
IS NOT ALWAYS CLEAR.And while
Utah’s new law is focused on
school sports, more is at
stake, according to Gillian
Branstetter with the the
National Women’s Law Center in
Washington, DC. Gillian
Branstetter. press secretary
at the National Women’s Law
Center: THIS IS CRITICALLY, AN
EFFORT TO KEEP THE DOOR OPEN
TOWARDS MORE HARSH
PENALTIES."Penalties, she
says, like a potential
prohibition on
gender-affirming medical care.
Gillian Branstetter. press
secretary at the National
Women’s Law Center: EXCLUSION
OF TRANSGENDER GIRLS FROM
SPORTS HELPS THE VERY EXTREME
MOVEMENT THAT IS DOING FAR,
FAR WORSE HARMS TO TRANSGENDER
PEOPLE." Not so, says Ehardt.
Rep. Barbara Ehardt,
R-Idaho Falls: IT REALLY IS
ABOUT PROTECTING OPPORTUNITIES
FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN."After
Birkelands 2021 bill failed,
lawmakers and advocates worked
together to craft Utah’s 2022
proposal. Rep. Kera
Birkeland, R-Morgan: WE HAD A
WHOLE YEAR PLUS OF DISCUSSION
OF WHAT WOULD A BAN LOOK LIKE
AND HOW FAR HOW EXTENSIVE
WOULD THAT BAN BE.That
compromise fell apart in the
last hours of the session,
after Birkeland says only an
all-out ban had the support to
pass. But after participating
in a years worth of
negotiations, Troy Williams
with Equality Utah was
saddened by the end result. He
says several Republican
lawmakers called him up with a
similar message. Troy
Williams, executive director,
Equality Utah: I HATE THIS
BILL. I DON’T WANT TO VOTE FOR
IT. BUT THE COUNTY CONVENTION
IS COMING UP. AND I’M FEARING
FOR MY POLITICAL
SEAT."Williams notes that just
four transgender students play
school sports in Utah and says
they deserve the same
opportunities as their
classmates. Troy Williams,
executive director, Equality
Utah: IT’S MORAL PANIC, IT’S
HYSTERIA, AND IT’S CRUEL."
Daniella Rivera: ALLIANCE
DEFENDING FREEDOM DECLINED AN
INTERVIEW, BUT NOTED IT’S
STANDARD PRACTICE FOR
LAWMAKERS TO ASK GROUPS FROM
ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM
FOR FEEDBACK ON LEGISLATION.
MIKE AND ASHLEY.
ADLIB TOSS