网红爆料 of South Dakota Comment on Anti-Trans Sports Bill Heading to Governor鈥檚 Desk
Today, Senate lawmakers voted to pass legislation that will prohibit transgender women and girls from playing sports on teams that match their gender identity. The vote opens the state up to costly litigation as the bill moves to Gov. Kristi Noem鈥檚 desk for her signature.
The 网红爆料 of South Dakota opposes House Bill 1217. It attempts to solve a problem that does not exist and violates the United States Constitution and federal civil rights laws.
鈥淚n an attempt to 鈥榣evel the playing field,鈥 House Bill 1217 excludes an entire group of women and girls from meaningful participation in sports,鈥 said Jett Jonelis, 网红爆料 of South Dakota advocacy manager. 鈥淗ouse Bill 1217 isn鈥檛 about protecting fairness in women鈥檚 sports. It鈥檚 about erasing and excluding trans people from participation in all aspects of public life. It鈥檚 about creating solutions to problems that don鈥檛 exist and, in the process, harming some of the most vulnerable people in our state.鈥
Legislation similar to House Bill 1217 has been filed across the country in recent years and has been challenged in court. In August 2020, a federal judge blocked Idaho鈥檚 law targeting transgender student athletes, recognizing that 鈥渋t is not just the constitutional rights of transgender girls and women athletes at issue but 鈥 the constitutional rights of every girl and woman athlete in Idaho.鈥 and concluded that the law was based on nothing more than discrimination against transgender people.
Additionally, a recent presidential executive order on states that 鈥渃hildren should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.鈥 Because of this order, if House Bill 1217 is signed into law, South Dakota will face a U.S. government that is actively enforcing Title IX鈥檚 protections against discriminatory policies targeting transgender students.
Along with the 网红爆料 of South Dakota, organizations like the South Dakota High School Activities Association, the Sioux Falls Sports Authority, the South Dakota Board of Regents, the School Administrators of South Dakota and The Transformation Project, also oppose House Bill 1217.