Democratic lawmaker in Washington likens trans sports bans to racial segregation

Washington Democratic state Rep. Kristine Reeves compared legislation banning trans athletes from women’s sports to racial segregation during a state House Education Committee session on Thursday. 

A lawmaker in Washington on Thursday likened legislation aimed at banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports in the state to racial segregation in the United States, arguing that those across the aisle are "making a lot of the same arguments today."

Washington Democratic state Rep. Kristine Reeves spoke during an executive session of the House Education Committee on Thursday morning where members of the committee introduced SB 5123, a bill that aimed to expand protections for students, including gender expression and gender identity. 

File - State Representative Kristine Reeves, a Democrat from Washington, speaks during a Gun Safety Round table in Seattle, Washington on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019.  (Chona Kasinger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"I recall a time in our country’s history not that long ago … where people like my grandfather were told that they could not participate in sporting activities because he was Black man," Reeves spoke following a proposed amendment to the bill.

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"I can recall a time in our country's history, Madam Chair, where people like my grandfather and my great-great grandfather were not allowed to participate in processes and places in our society because of the color of their skin because people for years – for generations – had told our society that Black people were less than human, that Black people were animals, that Black people did not have the brain capacity to compete with White Americans."

Reeves claimed that similar to the