Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took the GOP to task for passing a bill that would effectively ban transgender women and girls from school sports and told Democrats they will only start winning on LGBTQ+ issues if theyll throw a damn punch.On Tuesday, despite Democrats presenting a fairly unified front with only two members, Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar both of Texas, voting in favor of the anti-trans sports bill, the bill passed with widespread Republican support, something that AOC said liberals needed to counter if they were going to support marginalized communities.When we tell the truth about what Republicans are doing, and when were unafraid to do that, it generates momentum, AOC told Semafor political correspondent Dave Weigel at a press briefing after the vote, Them reported. When we lean into that momentum that we generate, and when Democrats arent afraid to throw a damn punch, then we can see that we can yield results.If Democrats want to push back against Republicans, the party cant cower in the face of tough issues, she said.The reason why I think some folks in the Democratic Party have felt like trans issues are hot water, or immigration issues are hot water, is because they havent felt confident or the ability to confidently throw a punch on solid ground that is persuasive and uniting people, AOC explained.The so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports bill passed with a vote of 218-206 and threatens to withhold federal funding from schools that dont comply with keeping trans girls from participating in school sports. The bill is one of several that the GOP has pushed forward that would amend Title IX the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in government-funded schools and education programs to enforce rules impacting trans peoples access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and protection from discrimination, based on biological sex without ever defining it. The Congressional Equality Caucus said the bill could force any student to answer invasive personal questions about their bodies & face humiliating physical inspections to prove that theyre a girl because it defines sex as based solely on a persons reproductive biology and genetics at birth.AOC pointed out that to stand up against this kind of discrimination, Democrats have to be strong if they want to garner support and create change.I think people smell blood in the water. They can understand weakness. And where they see weakness, thats when everything kind of falls apart, the congresswoman explained. So we have to be strong about these things. And I think projecting strength attracts support.