Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” on the first day of Pride Month.
What We Know:
- The Bill, which is set to take effect on July 1st, requires transgender athletes to present their birth certificates. The document must reflect that they were assigned females at birth for them to participate in women’s sports at the secondary or college level. It is unclear if that requirement extends to all participants or just those whose gender is brought into question.
- Another provision of the bill allows other students to sue the school if a transgender girl is allowed to participate in women’s teams. Previous drafts also detailed genetic and testosterone testing on students as well as genitalia exams.
- Nationally this contentious discussion has been on the rise as Republican states move to limit the rights of LGBTQ individuals. These restrictions have economic complications as the NCAA has already stated that they will relocate key games from states that discriminate against athletes.
- Democrats and LGBTQ advocates affirm that the bill is unconstitutional and will be challenged in court. The driving principle behind the bill that biological differences between males and females present an unfair advantage to cisgender athletes was evident in DeSantis’s address. “In Florida, girls are going to play girl sports, and boys are going to play boy sports,” He stated in a press conference.
The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act relies on the definition of biological sex being black and white. Scientists have proven this not to be the case as there is broad natural variation in factors that determine an individual’s sex. Florida is now one of several states to pass bills restricting trans participation in sports.
