Republican states are making a stand to protect women's rights and prevent transgender athletes from participating in women's sports.
On Thursday, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kentucky joined other Republican states whose legislators have passed bills to ensure that girls' sports are protected from transgender activists. Other Republican states that already have such rules in place are Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Utah, whose Republican-led legislature voted to override its governor's veto on Friday. State legislators in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kentucky have passed legislation to their respective governors for approval.
According to Breitbart, the Republican-led Arizona House voted 31 to 24 to send the "Save Women's Sports Act" or SB 1165 to Gov. Doug Ducey's desk. Arizona's measure is applicable to public schools and colleges, and private schools that compete against public schools. However, the measure does not specify that men and women can compete together in "mixed" events and does not prohibit women from playing on men's teams.
Under Arizona's "Save Women's Sports Act," any student who is "deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a school knowingly violating" the measure has the right to file a lawsuit against the school for damages. It also prohibits schools, athletic associations, and organizations from retaliating against any student who blows the whistle on a school violation. Finally, it allows the student to file a lawsuit if a school retaliates.
Meanwhile in Oklahoma, a similarly titled bill passed along party lines after a 37 to 7 vote. The measure now awaits the signature of Gov. Kevin Stitt, who only has a few days to pass or veto the bill. Like Arizona's bill, Oklahoma's "Save Women's Sports Act" mandates that "teams designated for 'females,' 'women,' or 'girls' shall not be open to students of the male sex." The measure also allows students to file a lawsuit against the school if it violates the legislation.
Oklahoma's "Save Women's Sports Act" also mandates parents or legal guardians of a student to "sign an affidavit acknowledging the biological sex of the student at birth" at the beginning of every school year.
Lastly, Kentucky's lawmakers passed SB 83 following a 26 to 9 vote. The measure bans men who think they are women from competing in girls' and womens' sports beginning sixth grade through college. SB 83 requires students to provide an original, unedited copy of their birth certificate or signed affidavit from a medical practitioner. The bill does not include language that empowers students to bring forth legal challenges to schools, but mandates that governments, licensing or accrediting organizations, and athletic associations are prohibited from pursuing adverse action or launching investigations.
The measures come after male-born Lia Thomas, who now identifies as a woman and is competing in a women's swimming team, won another major women's race, reigniting the debate on whether it is fair to let transgender athletes participate in women's sports. According to the Daily Mail, radio host Ben Fordham pushed for more bans on transgender athletes participating in women's sports.
"For years we've been sounding the alarm over the issue of transgender athletes in professional sport," Fordham said last Monday. "When we first started, we copped heaps of heat. But as the years keep rolling on, the evidence keeps on growing."
Fordham, who argued that Thomas has a physical advantage over the rest of the female-born athletes on the team, said it the transgender athletes' success is "not a win for fairness and it's a loss for women's sport."
