More than 20 states have proposed restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year, The Associated Press reported.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has announced that she will sign a bill passed to bar transgender girls and women from participating in females sports leagues, CBS News reported.
"I'm excited to sign this bill very soon," Noem tweeted on Monday minutes after it passed in the Senate.
The governor described its passage as a celebration of International Women's Day and a defense of women's sports. The announcement quickly garnered backlash from those in opposition.
“This is a hateful piece of legislation,” One person wrote in response to Noem. “State government needs to stay in their lane. This is and should be a school district discussion, not political. I suspect it will be challenged in the courts.”
The Human Rights Campaign criticized Noem, claiming that she was using her power to “exclude kids and make them feel less than.”
“Trans girls are their families are your constituents,” the group wrote on Twitter.
Currently, no transgender girls play in a female high school sports league in South Dakota, according to the high school athletics association, CBS News reported.
The high school athletics association who opposes the bill, said they currently evaluate applications from transgender girls on a case-by-case basis, as a means to support transgender students while also maintaining competitive fairness, CBS News reported
Currently, Idaho is the only state that has enacted a law imposing trans students' sports participation, and that 2020 measure is blocked by a court ruling, CBS reported.
Meanwhile, opponents of the bill are concerned about the devastating effects it would have on transgender people in the state. Jett Jonelis, advocacy manager of the ACLU of South Dakota said “it’s about erasing and excluding trans people from participating in all aspects of public life,” the Associated Press reported.
Last week, the Mississippi House passed a bill on banning transgender athletes from competing in girl's or women's sports teams, the Associated Press reported. More than 20 states have proposed restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order the day he took office that banned discrimination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere.
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