Mississippi’s Republican governor has signed a bill into law mandating that transgender athletes compete in sporting events based on their biological gender.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed SB 2536 into law Thursday and criticized President Biden’s January executive order requiring biological males who identify as female to be allowed to participate in girls sporting events.
“But for the fact that President Biden as one of his first initiatives sat down and signed an executive order — which, in my opinion, encourages transgenderism amongst our young people — but for that fact, we wouldn’t be here today,” Reeves said at the signing event, adding that the goal of the legislation is to “protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities.”
GREENE RESPONDS TO COLLEAGUE’S EQUALITY ACT FIGHT WITH ‘TWO GENDERS’ SIGN
The law, set to go into effect on July 1, has been slammed by LGBT groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, which believes this type of legislation leads to more bullying.
“This law is a solution in search of a problem, and legislators in Mississippi have not provided any examples of Mississippi transgender athletes gaming the system for a competitive advantage because none exist,” said Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David.
Supporters of the bill, including Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Holcomb, see it differently and argue that female athletes are, indeed, losing out on opportunities.
“When we ignore science and biological reality, female athletes lose medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete,” Holcomb said.
Transgender athletes competing in high school sports has been a growing controversy over the last several years, and at least 20 states are considering similar bills to keep female and male athletes from competing against each other.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Last year, Idaho’s Republican governor signed a similar bill into law that has faced legal challenges, which many expect will happen in Mississippi as well.
