With the State Tournament just days away, the Texas Forensics Association has set dockets for Congressional Debate rounds and has clarified that dockets may not be altered by students. Unfortunately, the TFA has made one specific decision that many participants believe is reprehensible (as the support of this petition will hopefully prove). 

One of the bills that is set to be debated in the final round has to do with the banning of conversion therapy as a method to subject queer people to violence. Obviously, this is a great idea. The issue is that the competitive nature of debate necessitates argumentation on 2 sides. The issue is abundantly clear - there is no real negative argument that is not rooted in homophobia and violence. The decision by the TFA to include such a bill in the final round of the tournament is flat-out disgusting and should be overturned for several reasons. 

1. The State tournament should be the pinnacle of debate - what debates are there to be had over something that is absolutely correct? The bill at hand is the equivalent of the USFG acknowledging that 1 is a number and that blue is a color. If debaters do end up debating against the truth, they will inevitably make arguments that subject themselves or their peers to homophobia.

2. The final round, specifically, draws the most attention from competitors and community members due to its importance. It doesn't make sense to force the best debaters in the state to waste their time going through parliamentary procedure to deal with a bill that will pass with unanimous support. 

3. This isn't the first time such bills have made their way into TFA State rounds - last year, students had to debate a cycle on protecting ethnic hairstyles. This means that at least one student had to advocate for a position that is racist, subjecting people in the activity to violent arguments. Taking a stance this year will ensure that these undebatable bills don't find their way to the State tournament in the future. 

There are a few things that could happen in this situation. 

1. The bill could be removed from the docket and replaced with another bill. Better yet, the idea of set dockets could be reconsidered by the TFA in order to prevent such situations from happening again. 

2. Students could be forced to play the devils advocate and argue against safety for themselves and their peers. 

3. The TFA can stand by and watch as students refuse to participate in the highest level of sanctioned competition and watch their reputation swirl down the drain. 

There is obviously one preferable outcome here. To those in charge of the TFA State Tournament, make the right choice and fix your mistake.