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Board declines to back federal ban on transgender athletes after heated public testimony
Summary
Supervisor Jim Desmond proposed the county support HR 28 — federal legislation to restrict transgender participation in women’s sports — but the motion did not receive a second; two alternative motions including one to add equal‑pay advocacy failed to secure the votes. Public comment was deeply split.
Supervisor Jim Desmond asked the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to add the county’s voice to a federal effort restricting athletes by sex, but the request did not advance after extensive public comment and debate.
Desmond told the board that “males, however they identify, should not be competing in women's sports,” and said his motion to support HR 28 — federal legislation that would bar biological males from competing in women’s sports — was intended to protect fairness and safety for girls and women. He said some parents had expressed concern about locker‑room privacy and student safety.
Board members and dozens of public commenters split sharply. Supporters of the proposal urged protection for girls’ competitive opportunities and safety; opponents — including athletes, health professionals and LGBTQ advocates — said the proposal was discriminatory, not supported by medical consensus and could harm transgender youth.
Vice Chair Tara Lawson Reimer opposed formal board support for HR 28 and criticized the measure as a distraction from larger policy issues. “This board letter reminds me of the Salem witch hunt, scaring people with pseudoscience to target and terrorize those perceived as different,” she said in remarks reviewing historical and policy context. Lawson Reimer said the county’s legislative energy should focus on issues that affect broad swaths of residents, and she declined to support the motion.
Public testimony was vigorous. Joanna Emmons, who described herself as a nurse and a mother, said, “No boys should be allowed in our girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, or to compete against them in sports.” By contrast, Claire Shaughnessy, who said she is the parent of a transgender child, said the resolution would “serve to intimidate and harm all transgender students” and cited medical community statements opposing blanket bans.
Desmond moved that the county support HR 28; the motion did not receive a second and therefore failed. The board then considered an alternate motion by Vice Chair Lawson Reimer to strip the original recommendation and instead “direct the Chief Administrative Officer to include advocacy and support for equal pay for women in sports in our board adopted legislative program.” That alternative motion was seconded but failed for lack of the required affirmative votes.
Ending: No formal county support for HR 28 was adopted and no new legislative posture on the matter was added. The board did not pass the initial request nor the substitute proposal.
