In an expansion of a 2021 law that forbade transgender students in K–12 Texas school districts and some charter schools from doing the same, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Thursday prohibiting transgender college athletes in the state from participating in sports that correspond with their gender identity.
Senate Bill 15, also known as the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” was presented by Abbott as an effort to shield female athletes from unfair competition.
Sports for women are in danger. He claimed during a signing event on Thursday that some women are compelled to compete with biological guys.
The new regulation, which goes into effect on September 1, enables people to bring legal action against organizations that let trans athletes play on teams that reflect their gender identity.
With Alabama imposing limitations last month and the US House passing a similar prohibition in April, limiting transgender athletes’ ability to compete on sports teams that match their gender identity has become a major priority for some Republicans.
They claim that the rules allow female athletes an equal opportunity to participate and that transgender women have a physical edge over cisgender women. Research on trans collegiate athletes is, however, scant. There is “no direct or consistent research” to suggest that trans people perform better than their cisgender counterparts in athletic competition, according to a 2017 paper in the journal Sports Medicine.
The limits, according to critics, are discriminatory.
Specifically in Texas’ public universities and colleges, SB 15 is yet another harmful attack from anti-LGBTQ lawmakers on transgender Texans’ right to be embraced, accepted, and able to thrive, according to Marti Bier of the Texas Freedom Network, a group that campaigns against conservative legislation and educational policies.
The new rule comes after Abbott signed a bill earlier this month that forbade most youngsters in the state from receiving gender-affirming medical care, making Texas the biggest US state to limit transgender children’s access to life-saving care.
The ACLU reports that over 490 anti-LGBTQ laws have been submitted this year, part of a bigger effort by GOP-controlled legislatures across the US to restrict transgender persons.
Stay tuned with Us
