basket holiday-bow
Presbyterian News Service

Advocacy Committee for LGTBQIA+ Equity urges opposition to recent House bill

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 would exclude transgender women, femmes and girls from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity

Default News Photo

January 17, 2025

Advocacy Committee for LGBTQIA+ Equity | Special to Presbyterian News Service

Presbyterian News Service

Image
Hands with the letters on fingers LGBTQIA+ Equity
Photo by Alexander Grey via Unsplash

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. — Amos 5:24

We, the Advocacy Committee for LGBTQIA+ Equity (ACQ+E), write to express our unequivocal condemnation of the passage of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 by the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation, which seeks to exclude transgender women, femmes and girls from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity, is an affront to the dignity and humanity of transgender individuals. It contradicts the values of justice, love and inclusion that are central to our Christian faith and to our understanding of God’s kingdom on Earth.

In our previous statement on Transgender Day of Visibility, we reaffirmed our commitment to standing alongside transgender siblings who face systemic violence and discrimination. Then, as now, we declared that these kinds of actions are not Christ-like. They betray the teachings of Jesus, who calls us to love one another as God loves us (John 13:34).

This legislation also defies the values that we, as Presbyterians, are called to uphold. The Book of Order reminds us of our sacred responsibility to seek to transform the structures of society to reflect God’s just and loving intentions. Instead of reflecting God’s justice and equity, this bill entrenches harm. It creates barriers to belonging and fails to honor the image of God present in every person, including our transgender siblings.

But as people of faith, we know that injustice does not have the final word. Faith calls us to act — to speak truth when harm is done, to reach out when others are cast aside, and to help build a world that reflects the radical love of God. This moment challenges us not just as a matter of policy but as a reflection of our faithfulness. Will we stand with the most vulnerable among us, as Jesus so often did? Will we create a world where everyone has a place at the table, or will we remain silent as systems of exclusion continue to flourish?

We cannot choose silence. Our faith compels us to act, and we find hope in knowing that the work of justice is already underway. Organizations like Gender Liberation empower transgender individuals through education and advocacy. Black Trans Travel Fund provides safety and dignity for Black transgender women by offering safe travel support. The Transgender Law Center advances legal protections for transgender rights, while the National Center for Transgender Equality advocates for dignity and safety at every level of government. Meanwhile, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project ensures that all individuals — regardless of race or income — have the freedom to self-determine their gender identity. And the Trevor Project provides crisis services, peer support, advocacy and education. These organizations remind us that the stream of justice is already flowing. As people of faith, we are called to widen the reach of that stream — to join this holy work and ensure that the stream continues to flow.

We are called to remember that the table Jesus set was one of abundance, belonging, and love — a table where no one is excluded, where all are valued, and where God’s justice flows freely. That table was never meant to be a place of division but a declaration of radical inclusion and a vision of God’s kingdom on Earth.

May we honor that table not only in word but in action. May we be faithful to the call to love boldly, to act justly, and to build a world that mirrors the boundless love of God. And may we never forget that justice, like righteousness, is not static — it is alive, ever-flowing, and depends on us to keep it moving forward.

In faith and solidarity,

The Advocacy Committee for LGBTQIA+ Equity (ACQ+E)

image/svg+xml

You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.

Topics: LGBTQIA+ Equity Advocacy Committee (ACQ+E), Gender and Racial Justice, Advocacy and Social Justice