This commentary is by Rep. Troy Headrick, I-Burlington.

Recently, during floor debate on S.123, I offered an amendment that would have created an eight-year renewal option for Vermont-issued identification cards. It was designed to provide longer-term stability and protection for Vermonters, especially those who are trans and nonbinary.

The structure was simple and sound, the amendment was revenue neutral, included safeguards to stabilize DMV revenue over time, and aligned with Vermont’s proud policy of allowing self-attestation of gender identity.

I also withdrew the amendment.

To some, that may have seemed abrupt or puzzling. But the choice was deliberate. While I remain convinced that the amendment represents strong policy, I knew that insisting on a vote could delay passage of the underlying bill that also includes a critical early renewal provision that trans and nonbinary Vermonters need immediately. Preserving that core protection became the priority.

Still, we need to talk about what this moment revealed.

Vermont leads in recognizing gender identity, but we do so within a larger federal system. The Trump administration’s recent executive order directs federal agencies to define sex based on immutable biology at conception. This quietly but powerfully undermines existing ID frameworks.

A Vermont-issued ID that reflects a person’s affirmed gender could now be questioned or rejected by the Transportation Security Administration, passport agencies or other federal entities. That’s not hypothetical. It’s the creeping return of exclusion via administrative means.

My amendment would have given Vermonters a shield with an eight-year window of bureaucratic peace. Time to travel, apply for jobs, enroll in benefits or simply move through the world without being asked to re-prove who they are.

And yet, too few in the chamber seemed ready to engage with that reality. The concerns raised weren’t rooted in hostility, but they were rooted in and exposed a blind spot. Some viewed the eight-year renewal as a bonus convenience, not a policy with protective power. Others were uncomfortable with the idea of setting up a reserve fund, despite the clear fiscal logic behind it.

What concerns me most isn’t that the amendment was withdrawn, but that too few of my colleagues recognized what it actually offered. For those of us who’ve never had our identity questioned at airport security or challenged by a federal agency, an eight-year ID renewal might sound like a simple convenience. But for trans and nonbinary Vermonters, many of whom aren’t in the room when we draft these policies, it would mean eight years of peace of mind, safety and stability.

When we dismiss policy changes as nonessential because they seem nonessential to us, we risk missing real opportunities to protect those who are most at risk. That’s a policy failure. Specifically it’s a failure to act on our stated commitment to keeping equity at the center of our legislative processes.

This is not the end of the conversation. The issue will return, as it must. In the meantime, I hope this moment serves as a reminder that equity requires more than good intentions. It requires an ability to see the implications of our policy through the eyes of those who are most affected by it.

Because dignity shouldn’t expire every four years.

The 2025 Vermont Principals’ Association spring sports playoff pairings are out! Here’s a look at the first round and the byes for Franklin County high schools. The dates for the first round and the byes have been established, but the times for all the games have not. Please visit ScorebookLive.com for more information.

D1 Softball

No. 1 BFA-St. Albans Comets have a bye in the first round and will play the winner of No. 8 South Burlington/No. 9 North Country on June 6 at 4:30 p.m.

No. 7 Missisquoi Valley Union hosts No. 10 Champlain Valley Union on June 4.

D2 Softball

No. 5 Enosburg hosts No. 12 Spaulding on June 4.

D3 Softball

No. 2 BFA-Fairfax hosts the No.7 Fair Haven/10 Paine Mountain winner on June 6.

D4 Softball

No. 4 Blue Mountain hosts No. 5 Richford on June 5.

SOUTH BURLINGTON – The 2025 Vermont girls tennis individual championships involved girls from just two schools with representatives from Champlain Valley facing off against opponents from Mount Mansfield.

The schools managed to split the championships at The EDGE in South Burlington on Saturday, May 31 to conclude the three-day individual tournament before team playoffs begin the first week of June.

Bea Molson book ends career with another championship

Three years ago, Mount Mansfield’s Bea Molson became the first Cougar to win a girls tennis individual championship as a freshman. Molson had not earned a spot again in the singles championship match until her senior season. The Cougar suffered losses in the quarterfinals in 2023 and the semifinals in 2024 to eventual champion Anna Dauerman of Champlain Valley.

Molson entered the 2025 individual tournament as the top seed after winning all 11 regular-season matches. There the senior earned her redemption, defeating third-seeded Dauerman 6-4, 6-3 capturing her second individual title in her high school career.

“(My strategy was) just to keep the play going and hit it behind her to hit winners and just focus on the ball and hit it deep,” Molson said.

Champlain Valley’s Ariel Toohey finally wins doubles championship

For the last two years, CVU’s Ariel Toohey and her former partner Addie Maurer lost in the doubles finals match to Stowe’s Gabby Doehla and Katie Tilgner. With Doehla and Tilgner graduated, Toohey had a chance.

The senior had a new partner in sophomore Rylee Makay. Both Toohey and Makay play mostly singles for CVU, so the start of the individual tournament was the first time they played doubles together.

Despite not having on-the-court chemistry prior to the tournament, Toohey and Makay found a groove that continued into the finals match. Toohey and Makay defeated MMU’s Estelle First and Ava Poehlmann, 7-6, 3-6, 10-4 in a three-set thriller giving the senior the title she fell short of for the past two springs.

“Definitely super satisfying, especially in my senior year,” Toohey said. “It was good to have a new opponent and a new partner and just a fresh start.”

Toohey and Makay immediately clicked and their cohesion was evident during the first two days of the tournament. Toohey and Makay won their first three matchups in straight sets to book a spot in the finals.

In the third set tiebreaker, the Redhawks won the first three points and managed to hold the Cougars off helping CVU win its seventh overall girls doubles championship and first since 2018.

Toohey and Makay gained confidence after winning the first set tiebreaker that carried them to their third set victory.

“I feel like we didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves going into it,” Toohey said. “We knew we had nothing to lose because we didn’t have a reputation as a double team, so we kind of gave it our all.”

Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.