On Monday, South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem announced that she will soon sign a bill prohibiting trans athletes from competing in female sports.
According to Fox News, Noem made mention of the signing after the state Senate passed the Women’s Fairness in Sports Bill in a vote of 20-15.
“In South Dakota, we're celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by defending women's sports! I'm excited to sign this bill very soon,” she tweeted in response to the news.
In South Dakota, we're celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by defending women's sports! I'm excited to sign this bill very soon. https://t.co/OU15HOwp2r
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) March 8, 2021
The bill, which was introduced by State Rep. Rhonda Milstead, also passed the South Dakota House 50-17, last month, KOTA TV reported.
One spokesman for Noem told Fox News that “when Governor Noem signs the bill, South Dakota will be the first state this year to pass legislation of this sort.”
Opponents to the bill include the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, who sent advocacy manager Jett Jonelis to testify against it.
"In an attempt to ‘level the playing field,’ House Bill 1217 excludes an entire group of women and girls from meaningful participation in sports," Jonelis argued. "House Bill 1217 isn’t about protecting fairness in women’s sports. It’s about erasing and excluding trans people from participation in all aspects of public life."
Additionally, 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 voiced opposition to the bill.
Last week, Tennessee and Mississippi also passed bills banning biological male, transgender athletes from competing in girl and women sports.
In February, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended President Joe Biden’s executive order in favor of trans athletes to compete in sports in accordance to their chosen gender identity.
When a reporter asked Psaki what Biden’s message was to school officials concerning disputes with respect to transgender and cisgender girls competing together, namely for college scholarships, Psaki contended that Biden’s belief is that “trans rights are human rights.”
"And that's why he signed that executive order," she exclaimed. "And in terms of the determinations by universities and colleges, I would certainly defer to them."
Photo courtesy: ©Jeffrey F. Lin//Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
