The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday prohibiting biological males from playing on women's teams, acting on an issue that helped propel Donald Trump back into the White House and that polls show has widespread support among the public.

The "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act" passed by a vote of 218-206, with all 216 Republicans joining two Democrats in supporting a bill that amends Title IX to prohibit any school that receives federal assistance from allowing a "person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls." The bill says an individual's sex shall be "based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth." All 206 "no" votes came from Democrats.

Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said the bill aligns with "what is right and what is common sense."

"We know from Scripture and from nature that men are men and women are women, and men cannot become women," Johnson said at a news conference after its passage. "It's sad that we have to say that. It's a matter of biology. It's how we're made. And if we try to ignore that or to undo it, we do so at our peril and to the detriment of our daughters."

Today is a great day in America because House Republicans just passed @RepGregSteube's Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act ensuring men cannot compete in women’s sports.

Supporters say the bill is needed for a matter of fairness and safety. In Connecticut, two high school athletes who are biologically male but who identify as female won a total of 15 state track championships in the girls division. In a high school game in North Carolina, a high-speed volleyball spike by a biological male who identifies as female injured a girl on the opposing team.

During the fall, multiple women's college volleyball teams forfeited their matches rather than face San Jose State, which included a biological male who identifies as female and who competes on the women's team.

Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and an activist on the issue applauded the bill's passage.

"I'm thrilled with the passage," she said. "... But truthfully, I'm mad. I'm mad that this is something we have to do. I'm mad that we, as women, have to beg for equal rights. I'm mad that we have to beg for privacy in areas of undressing, and I'm mad that we have to beg for safety on the court or on the field."

Kristen Waggoner, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, also commended the House.

"Girls shouldn't be spectators in their own sports," Waggoner said. Allowing males who identify as female to compete in girls' sports ignores the biological differences between the sexes -- destroying fair competition and erasing women's athletic prospects."

Johnson cited data.

"Around the world, it's estimated that more than 700 female athletes have been displaced by males in women's sporting events, and that has resulted in more than 1,000 estimated medals, records, and scholarships intended for women going to men," he said.

The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 seat advantage but where the legislation could face a Democratic filibuster. Trump supports the bill.

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