As the Missouri Republican Missouri state legislators continue to try to limit transgender athletes’ participation in school sports, Kaitlin Klasen, SLU/YouGov Poll research assistant, provides analysis on how likely Missouri voters feel about this issue following the release of the February 2023 SLU/YouGov Poll results.
Republican Missouri state legislators continue to try to limit transgender athletes’ participation in school sports. In the 2022 legislative session, two bills—one to ban transgender athletes from participating in sports that match their gender identity (HB 1973) and one to allow local votes to ban trans girls from playing on girls’ teams (HB 2140)—were passed in the Missouri House but did not get a vote on the Senate floor. In the current session, a group of bills referred to as the “Save Women Sports Act” would prohibit trans athletes from competing in sports that do not match their sex at birth from kindergarten to the collegiate level. Overall, there are 6 bills concerning whether transgender student-athletes should be allowed to play on a sports team that matches the gender they identify with, or the sex they were assigned at birth.
Under current Missouri State High School Activities Association requirements, transgender girls face more restrictions than transgender boys in playing for the team of their gender identity. Transgender boys can apply to be on boys’ teams whether or not they are receiving medical treatment (i.e., hormones) but cannot play on girls’ teams once they start treatment. This decision remains for the rest of his interscholastic eligibility. However, transgender girls not taking medical treatments are ineligible to play on girls’ teams. Those taking treatments are ineligible to play on girls’ teams until “one calendar year of documented medical/hormone treatment and/or suppression is completed” and must provide continued medical documentation to prove ongoing treatment to remain eligible. Since the implementation of these rules in 2012, nine trans boys and four trans girls have been approved to play.
When asked by the SLU/YouGov Poll in August 2022, 65% of Missouri voters disagreed with allowing transgender student-athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identity rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Support for such bills has largely been divided along party lines. 91% of Republicans disagreed with allowing transgender student-athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identity rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Only 31% of Democrats disagreed. There was also a contrast between younger and older voters. 28% of voters aged 18-29 disagreed with allowing transgender student-athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identify rather than the gender they were assigned at birth compared to 78% of voters aged 65+ disagreeing.