The Arizona House of Representatives passed a ban on transgender students participating in girls’ sports, a measure its sponsor argued is common sense but which opponents contended would allow for discrimination against young athletes.

The emotional hours-long debate on House Bill 2706 culminated in a party-line vote of 31-29, sending the measure to the state Senate, where it will become another flashpoint in the culture wars at the state Capitol.

Rep. Nancy Barto, a Phoenix Republican who is sponsoring the measure, argued it is necessary in the face of a lawsuit in Connecticut brought by the conservative Scottsdale-based group Alliance Defending Freedom and students who argue they unfairly lost out in competition with transgender athletes.

Barto could not cite any such cases in Arizona of students missing out on scholarships or titles, but conservative groups have pushed similar laws across the country this year.

HB 2706 would require interscholastic and intramural leagues to designate sports as co-educational, male or female based on what the law terms "biological sex." Teams or sports designated as "female" would be closed "to students of the male sex."

The law would apply at both public and private schools, including community colleges and universities.

If in dispute, an athlete could establish their sex through a genetic test.

Initially, Barto's bill called for students to meet three different requirements. They would have needed to get a sworn doctor's statement detailing their student's genetic makeup, "internal and external reproductive anatomy" and "normal endogenously produced levels of testosterone."

Democrats decried the bill as invasive and harmful to transgender students.

State Rep. Daniel Hernandez, D-Tucson, called it the "show me your genitals law" — a play on the nickname for Senate Bill 1070, the controversial "show me your papers" law from 2010.

In turn, Barto amended the bill, scaling it back to only require a genetic test.

Barto argued the bill sets firm rules when it comes to gender in competitive sports, particularly when there are titles and big scholarships on the line.

"Shot puts are heavier for boys. Girls' basketballs are smaller. It makes a difference," she said.

Democrats: 'We're policing gender'

Still, Democrats argued the measure amounts to an overreach by the state government into something better left to students, schools and families.

“We're policing gender,” said Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma. “We're trying to decide if that person is feminine enough or not feminine enough and we're using that to justify subjecting our transgender athletes to additional barriers to participating in sports.”

Democrats also argued that the bill is too broad, contending it would allow spiteful competitors and bitter athletic rivals to file complaints and launch investigations into students on opposing teams.

Who, exactly, will be responsible for handling the results of genetic tests was another question raised by Democrats. Will it be the schools, the athletics leagues or the state government?

Hernandez noted that the Arizona Interscholastic Association, which governs school athletics throughout the state, has already adopted policies for screening transgender athletes to compete.

The organization requires that students compile letters of support from parents, a school administrator and a qualified health professional. The student must then get approval from a committee as well as the association's executive board.

Democrats said 10 athletes are competing under the policy and that the AIA had rejected some applicants, suggesting the process is not just a rubber stamp.

Barto told lawmakers she had not talked with the organization about her bill.

More than 200 local and national businesses signed a letter in recent weeks opposing HB 2706, including the Arizona Diamondbacks as well as the tech companies PayPal and Uber.

“The pursuit of divisive policies that are not based on evidence or need puts our collective economic success at risk,” the letter stated. “This bill would create a dangerous situation for Arizona’s kids, and put our team members who have LGBTQ children in a terrible position, causing them to worry about their kids’ safety, wellbeing, and inclusion at school and in the community.”

The conservative group Center for Arizona Policy cheered the vote, though, and looked to the Senate.

“Arizona senators who support girls and women can boldly support HB2706, which contrary to claims, does not prohibit any student from playing sports. It simply determines on which team a student will play,” Cathi Herrod, the group’s president, said in a statement.

'This is a pro-woman bill'

The bill consumed most of the House’s workday, with debate dragging on for more than five hours.

Lawmakers talked about their own experiences playing sports, with Republicans talking about the bill as a bid to save girls’ sports from male athletes and Democrats arguing that transgender girls deserve to be treated as girls.

Two doctors in the chamber — Democratic Rep. Randy Friese and Republican Rep. Regina Cobb — offered dueling views about the medical science of gender.

“We tried so hard to not talk about the differences between men and women here in this conversation,” Barto said as a final vote neared around 8 p.m., after hours of discussion and procedural wrangling.

“We tried to make it very emotional, like we’re going after a group. But, no, this is a pro-woman bill. This is a bill to save women’s sports because, frankly, it won’t be saved if we don’t clarify the law.”

House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, accused the bill’s opponents of leaning on intimidation and political correctness.

Directing his comments to girls competing in sports, he said: “You're not a homophobe. You're not a transphobe. You're a competitor and you should be on a fair field.”

GOP won't hear anti-discrimination bill

Immediately after the bill passed, Hernandez moved for the House to take up a bill that would bar employers and landlords from discriminating against LGBTQ employees and tenants and extend the state’s civil rights protections to gay and lesbian Arizonans in other areas, too.

The bill, HB 2716, has not received a hearing, signaling it is not going anywhere at the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Hernandez argued that if lawmakers were serious when they insisted Barto’s bill was not discriminatory, they should pass an anti-discrimination law.

“A bill that would have protected an entire community won't even be debated,” Hernandez argued as lawmakers gathered their belongings and paced around with their briefcases, preparing to go home.

The House blocked the procedural move on a party line vote.

Contact Andrew Oxford at andrew.oxford@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter at @andrewboxford.