South Dakota Governor Signs Anti-Trans Sports Bill Into Law
KELO reports. The state’s House of Representatives had passed it Tuesday, following earlier approval by the Senate.The legislation, Senate Bill 46, states that “only female athletes, based on their biological sex, may participate in any team, sport, or athletic event designated as being for females, women, or girls.” “Biological sex” is defined at the sex on a person’s birth certificate, issued at or near the time of birth, so the measure bars trans females from girls’ and women’s teams, both in K-12 schools and public colleges and universities.
It does not keep trans boys and men off male teams.Noem, a Republican, had vetoed similar legislation last year because, she said, she feared reprisal by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which allows trans women to compete alongside cisgender women if they meet certain requirements.
She brought up the possibility of economic boycotts as well. So she issued executives orders limiting trans participation instead, one for K-12 schools and another for higher education.
She got behind the latest legislation, however.“During a news conference following the signing ceremony, Noem was asked how she could support a ban on transgender girls in female sports when she has said she has friends and family who are transgender; she responded that the law was about fairness,” KELO reports.Indeed, backers of such bans usually say they’re about fairness to cisgender women, claiming that trans women have an inherent and unfair advantage over cisgender women, but both scientists and activists dispute this.
