Aug. 26, 2020 – South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (D).
The South Dakota Senate voted 20 to 15 Monday afternoon (March 8) to pass HB1217, which prevents transgender people from competing in girls’ sports at public schools and public universities. And more than 20 states across the nation have now passed similar legislation.
Shortly after the bill passed, Governor Kristi Noem (R) said she would sign the bill into law.
Gov. Noem tweeted, “In South Dakota, we celebrate International Womens Day by campaigning in defense of women! I’m excited to sign the bill soon.”
The bill, titled “Promoting Continued Equity in Women’s Sports,” passed the House 50-17 on Feb. 24. The bill was co-sponsored by South Dakota Republican state Rep. Rhonda Milstead and Republican state Sen. Maggie Sutton.
The bill states that “a group or movement that is designated as female, or that applies only to female participants, that is based on their biological sex.”
Opponents say the bill would discriminate against transgender girls and transgender women, and violate the U.S. Constitution and civil rights laws. But supporters argue that transgender girls have a natural advantage over those born with the condition. Milstead said it is not intended to “exclude anyone from the movement.
It’s about including everybody, because for every girl, if she can’t play basketball because some biological male has her spot, then you’ve got that girl out of place,” Milstead said during a discussion of the bill at the state Capitol, according to the Rapid City Jorunal. “
Idaho was the first of more than 20 states to pass similar legislation. But a federal judge suspended the Idaho legislation in question in August 2020, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear an appeal in the case in May.
Mississippi lawmakers passed a similar bill last Thursday (March 4), 81-28. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) has announced he will sign it into law.
“I will sign a bill to protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological men for athletic opportunities,” Republican Gov. Reeves tweeted. “It’s crazy that we have to address this issue. It was Biden‘s executive order that brought this issue to the forefront.”
On his first day in the White House, Biden signed an executive order titled “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. The executive order states, “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to restrooms, locker rooms or school sports.”
When reporters asked White House Secretary Jen Psaki what Biden’s message was to school officials Was he trying to get transgender people to compete with people who were born girls, especially when they are competing for college scholarships? Psaki replied, “The president’s belief is that transgender rights, too, are human rights.”
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