Florida became the latest US state to ban all transgender girls and women from female sports. The Republican governor Ron DeSantis has signed the measure into law on Tuesday. The law is also saying that women and girls must play with their biological sex on their birth certificates.
The LGBT activists are denouncing this move as a discriminatory one. One group is vowing for the launch of the legal challenges. Mr. DeSantis also believes that it is very important that the integrity of these competitions be preserved.
“We’re gonna go based on biology, not based on ideology when we’re doing sports,” said DeSantis.
This move is coming as the republican-led states are pushing back against the LGBT policies, which are getting support from Joe Biden. Florida’s laws are defining that an athlete’s sex should be the one that is having the mention in the birth documents. For the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, this law is saying that the sports teams “may not be open to students of the male sex”.
The law would not affect the female athletes from playing in the team of men or boys. This law will also allow the students to take legal actions against the school if they are feeling the violation.
The supporters of the bill are saying that transgender female athletes have an unfair advantage in female sports. They have the designation as the male on their birth certificate. But the critics are saying that this banning of transgender women and girls is discriminatory and unnecessary.
The law will also apply to public secondary and high schools, universities, and colleges. It will come into effect on July 1st July.
Carlos Smith, a Democrat who claims himself as Latino and gay, has spoken against the bill. He is calling the bill an appalling one. This is also fueling up transphobia and putting the kids to risk for not any good reason.
Kelli Stargel, a Republican state senator who has supported this bill, is denying this bill to be a discriminatory one.
“This bill is very simply about making sure that women can safely compete, have opportunities, and are physically able to excel in a sport that they trained for, prepared for, and work for,” Ms. Stargel said.
However, the Human Rights Campaign is defending the rights of LGBT. They will challenge this measure in court. The move of Florida is coming as a pro-equality measure. It is also gaining momentum at the national level. President Biden has signed an executive order. It is aiming to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Credits: BBC
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