Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a law banning transgender athletes from participating in collegiate sports teams that match their gender identities on Thursday. The new law goes into effect in September.
SB 15 – also called the “Women’s Sports Rescue Act” by its proponents – It is based on legislation passed in the state in 2021 which barred transgender women and girls in K-12 schools from participating in sports teams that aligned with their gender identities. It forces athletes to compete on teams based on their “biological sex,” or the gender “properly stated” on their birth certificate, according to The text of the legislation.
The bill includes provisions that bar transgender athletes whose sex has been changed on their birth certificates from participating in sports teams that align with their gender identities by defining gender as “entered at or near the time of the student’s birth,” and only recognizes changes made to certificates. Birth and made to correct a clerical error.
Abbott said in a letter press release. “The Save Women Sports Act protects young women at Texas colleges and universities by barring men from competing on a team or as an individual against them in college sports.”
Abbott has long called trans women and girls “men” and “biological boys” in his letter about the bill — the latter being LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD calls A term to be avoided.
GLAAD writes: “‘Biological boy’ is a term often used by anti-trans activists to ignore and denigrate trans girls and deny them access to society as their authentic gender identity.”
Advocacy organizations were quick to condemn the new law, with the Texas Civil Liberties Union tweeting that the law is “unfair, unconstitutional, and just plain cruel.”
“Trans students deserve to participate in the sports they love,” the ACLU added.
“Even when elected officials ignore their duty to serve Texans and instead target a vulnerable minority, create problems that don’t exist, and use our taxpayers’ money to do so — trans lives can’t be erased,” said Marty Beer, Vice President of Programs. In the Texas Freedom Network. “No matter what laws the extremists in power currently pass, our communities will find love and support within one another.”
Earlier this month, Abbott signed into law Gender affirmation sponsorship ban for transgender youth in Texas. This law will enter into force on the first of September.
according to The best collegesAt least 16 other states have similar restrictions on transgender athletes participating in intramural sports, and at least 22 states have banned transgender athletes from kindergarten through grade 12 from participating in sports teams consistent with their gender identity, according to Movement Advancement Projectwhich tracks legislation affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
C Mandler
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