By Andrew Trunsky
Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill into law Thursday barring transgender athletes in public schools and colleges from competing in women’s sports.
The bill, SB 2536, is the first of such legislation to be signed into law this year, though similar initiatives have appeared in other states across the country. South Dakota’s Senate sent a similar bill to the desk of Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday.
The legislation’s supporters have argued that such bills are necessary to ensure fairness in women’s sports, saying that trans women have a physical advantage over biological women in athletics.
“This important piece of legislation will ensure that young girls in Mississippi have a fair, level playing field in public schools,” Reeves said at a bill signing event.
The bill sailed through the state’s Republican-dominated legislature, passing the state House by a vote of 81-28 and the state Senate 34-9.
I never imagined dealing with this, but POTUS left us no choice. One of his first acts was to sign an EO encouraging transgenderism in children. So today, I proudly signed the Mississippi Fairness Act to ensure young girls are not forced to compete against biological males. pic.twitter.com/INZgKQRMJr
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 11, 2021
Critics of the bill, however, have argued that it is discriminatory against transgender students.
Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group, called Reeves’ anti-transgender push “appalling,” and said the law is “a solution in search of a problem,” according to a statement.
Mississippi lawmakers have not “provided any examples of Mississippi transgender athletes gaming the system for a competitive advantage because none exist,” he said in a statement following its signing.
Other critics likened the bill to Republican-led bathroom bills several years ago, which sought to mandate that people use restrooms corresponding to their biological sex.
“Just like it was never about restrooms, this bill is not about sports,” Chase Strangio, the American Civil Liberties Union deputy director for trans justice, told Law and Crime. “It’s about pushing trans people out of public life.”
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We need to stop indulging the madness. There is no such thing as a “transgendered” person. There is only untreated mental illness. To use their words and buy into their premises just facilitates and perpetuates this insanity. There are only two sexes, period. God made man and woman separate and distinct yet fully complementary. Parents and teachers that push this madness on their children are guilty of child abuse. I can no more identify as a horse, a dog, a younger man, or an older man, than I can as a woman.
The emperor truly has no clothes, and yet when we nod our heads and say transgenderism is a thing and worthy of acknowledgement and acceptance, (but just not in our daughters’ sports) then we are no different than the crowd of towns folks standing on the street commenting on how wonderful the emperor looks in his new suit of clothes as he parades by!
Perfect, it’s about time some steps up and uses common sense, boys sports are
for boys and girls, sports are for girls……..
If these gender abnormalities want to play in sports, start their own leagues. We
already a different league’s handicapped, paraplegic, and even Special Olympics
so why not Gender Sports
Excellent! Girls need to have the same opportunity as boys to excel in sports for college scholarships and also just for the honor of being the best in an athletic discipline. I don’t even consider myself a feminist, but pitching biological males against biological female is an attack on women’s achievements in sports and in my opinion just another form of oppression. The transgender community is doing itself no favors, either, allowing such ridiculous laws, as they will only end up creating resentment against transwomen.