MONTGOMERY, Ala. — On Wednesday, Alabama state lawmakers finalized legislation that establishes definitions of male and female based on biological characteristics, explicitly excluding transgender individuals from recognition under their affirmed gender identities.
The state House of Representatives passed the measure with a vote of 77-12. This legislation now awaits the signature of Governor Kay Ivey, who has expressed her intention to enact it into law. In a statement shared on social media platform X, Ivey stated, “I look forward to signing it into law to codify common sense!”
This move by Alabama follows a growing trend among Republican-controlled states to implement similar legal definitions of gender. Currently, nine states have enacted analogous laws, while several others aim to advance new legislations this year, particularly in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s executive order asserting that there are only two genders and dismissing the legitimacy of gender transition.
Supporting the bill, Republican Representative Susan Dubose emphasized, “In Alabama, we have common sense. We know what a woman is. God created us man or woman, and our sex is fixed and determined at birth.” Some proponents argue that the legislation is designed to safeguard “women-only” spaces by restricting access for transgender women. However, transgender advocates contend that these laws serve to undermine their existence and exploit societal biases for political leverage.
Transgender man Zephyr Scalzetti expressed concern regarding the profound implications the bill could have, stating that it impacts how transgender individuals are recognized in legal contexts. Scalzetti noted, “The bill is far more reaching than just bathrooms.” He further asserted, “The goal is not to protect women. The goal is to eradicate trans people. That has been very blatant and public.”
The House leadership scheduled the bill for discussion under rules that limited debate to just 10 minutes, a practice typically reserved for noncontroversial topics. Democratic Representative Barbara Drummond from Mobile contested this approach, stating, “Don’t you think the individuals that are affected deserve more than 10 minutes?” She called for more thorough discussion regarding legislation that profoundly affects people’s lives.
In response, House Rules Chairman Joe Lovvorn pointed out that the bill had been scrutinized intermittently in the Alabama Statehouse over the preceding two years.
Critics like A’Niya Robinson, the Director of Policy and Organizing for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, labeled the bill as part of an excessive focus on the lives of transgender people. Robinson expressed, “SB79 is not consistent with Alabama values and will unfortunately lead to unnecessary hurt, pain, and suffering, especially among Alabama’s youth. It is impossible to erase who someone is, and it is anything but common sense to pretend that they do not exist.”
