This story is part of WyoFile’s collaborative legislative initiative — a coordinated effort by partner newsrooms to deliver comprehensive coverage of Wyoming’s 2025 general session.
CHEYENNE—A bill to ban transgender athletes from participating in intercollegiate sports passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the last day for third reading of bills in the second chamber.
Senate File 44, “Fairness in sports-intercollegiate athletics,” was amended in the House during committee of the whole debate to include definitions of “male” and “female,” which lawmakers have added to other bills this session, starting with House Bill 32, “What is a Woman Act.” That bill also passed on third reading with no discussion in the Senate on a 28-3 vote.
Several pieces of legislation would add definitions for a person’s sex at birth to state statute, stating that “female” means a person who “has, had, will have or would have had, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports and utilizes eggs for fertilization.” “Male” is defined as “a person who has, had, will have or would have had, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports and utilizes sperm for fertilization.”
Rep. Julie Jarvis, R-Casper, brought a failed third-reading amendment Tuesday to SF 44 to remove those definitions, and to instead rely on a person’s “official original” birth certificate to determine “biological sex.” Jarvis said that in speaking to attorneys and medical providers, she was told the definitions are “vague enough” that courts will have to decide who will make determinations on a case-by-case basis.
Jarvis continued that the medical providers she spoke with told her there is no non-invasive procedure for such a determination.
“That is an internal [pelvic] examination,” Jarvis said. “It is bimanual, or it is a transvaginal ultrasound.”
By relying on an “official original” birth certificate instead, which can be obtained by subpoena, invasive medical procedures could be avoided, she said.
“Even though we’ve used this definition on several other things, maybe we back out when we find a better definition … that is not requiring a bimanual examination or a transvaginal ultrasound in order to determine if you are a woman or not,” Jarvis said.
Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, said she “strongly opposed” the amendment to remove definitions from SF 44. She was a driving force behind adding those definitions to Senate File 62, “Sex-designated facilities and public schools,” which requires public school children to use restrooms that align with their sex at birth, while providing “reasonable accommodations” for single-use bathrooms, if necessary.
“We have overwhelmingly approved these definitions in all the bills that we’ve passed in the area of gender issues,” Lawley said. “That was intentional. It is really important that Wyoming speak with clarity and consistency into this space.”
Further, she said the definitions of “female” and “male” had been vetted in committee and should not be changed on third reading.
Jarvis’s amendment to SF 44 failed in a voice vote, and the bill passed on third reading in a 52-8 vote. The bill has been sent back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. If it fails, it could be sent to a joint conference committee to work out the differences.
Dear Legislators,
Men and boys do not need to dress as women and put up with the abuse that engenders to ogle, sexually assault and rape women. The males who want to do that go ahead and do it – even in the women’s room. Work on that problem rather finding yet another way to traumatize people.
Just get some backyard chickens and everything will be AOK.
Really setting weird and unsettling priorities!!! Mind boggling, to say the least. Say, did you notice the stock market crashes??? Oh, my goodness, egg prices.
There is no such thing as a ‘transgender/transsexual’ person until science finds a way to effectively, safely, and ethically rewrite a person’s DNA to become the opposite sex. In the meantime we have GDM’s (Gender Dysphoric Males) and GDF’s (Gender Dysphoric Females) for what I suspect is a tiny minority of the population that truly suffer from gender dysphoria, and there are PF’s (Pseudo Females) and PM’s (Pseudo Males) for the vocal group pretending to be the opposite sex for whatever reason.
These “concerns” never seem to really be an issue for trans men. Laws like these are supposed to “protect women” – yet I’d really be surprised if there weren’t more biological girls/women who will have there sex questioned, be ridiculed and have to “prove” their gender than there are actual transwomen in the entire state. This happened to a high school athlete in Utah and a State School Board official was even posting on social media questioning her gender identity (she was finally removed from the board). This girl was a victim of the “transphobia witch hunt” the GOP has been pushing. So who is it really protecting?
Martha Lawley, bless his little heart. Worland’s finest Pepsi sponsorship. Newell Sergeant weeps in his grave.
Now that the important issues are addressed, maybe Lawley could move on to peripheral and less critical matters such as the faltering WY economy, job losses in the state, lack of school funding, our healthcare deserts, deaths of despair, the exodus of our young talent, wasted livestock and agriculture subsidies, attacks on public lands, among others. He might even work on the shoring up the student loan repayment program that keeps the few young healthcare practitioners in our state here and working. Or he might crawl back to Worland and stew.
I get it. Lawley gag is well, you know.
Imagine 15-20-30 years ago, telling someone that in 2025 laws will have to be passed to prevent males competing in female sports.
Yea, that ain’t hard to imagine. Title 9 was enacted in 1972.
ERA was passed to the state Legislatures in 1972 as well.
Who would have thought 15-20-30 years ago the WY conservative party would elect a convicted felon and rapist as their leader, that the party would openly support a former KGB agent and the Kremlin over the American people and American Allies? Who would have thought WY conservatives would cheer on a ketamine fueled billionaire destroying Federal agencies and eliminating critical jobs in our beautiful state, while granting himself additional government contracts worth hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars? Who would have thought the people of WY would cheer CPAC attendees giving Nazi salutes to an admiring crowd? Who would have thought WY conservatives would support the dismantling of Social Security or Medicare benefits; earned benefits paid for over generations by WY citizens who rely on that investment to survive? Who would have thought so many WY men would be born without a spine? Who would have thought 15-20-30 years ago we need to be reminded that fascism is not okay, we literally had a World War about this.
A transgender Div 1 athlete three states over is of little concern, and hardly worth the time or effort spent on this ridiculous bill. WY’s troubles go way beyond anything happening in college sports.
Coy, you’ve said it very well.