A bill that bans biological males from participating in women’s sports was signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC).
The Save Women’s Sports Act was passed by the South Carolina General Assembly, and signed by McMaster on Monday.
The law seeks to “ensure that fair opportunities are preserved for all children to compete in sports” based on “a student’s biological sex on the student’s official birth certificate.”
“Athletic teams or sports designated for males, men, or boys shall not be open to students of the female sex, unless no team designated for females in that sport is offered at the school in which the student is enrolled. Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex,” the bill reads, per report.
The South Carolina General Assembly gave overwhelming support to the bill, passing the Senate in a 30-10 vote and the House in a 70-33 vote.
President of the American Principles Project, Terry Schilling said: “We applaud Governor McMaster and South Carolina lawmakers for taking action to protect a fair playing field for girl athletes. With 16 states now having taken this step, there is no excuse left for those states that haven’t, particularly those led by Republicans. This is now a litmus-test issue for the GOP, and voters will be paying attention to what their leaders either do or fail to do as we approach the midterms.”
South Carolina United for Justice and Equality called the bill “anti-trans.”
“It pains us to see lawmakers ignore thousands in SC — including parents, medical providers, faith leaders & trans people — who worked to #SupportTransYouthSC and reject this dangerous bill,” the group tweeted.
However, a glaring number of Americans are fighting to keep sports fair and to only allow biological women to compete against other biological women, citing that biological males have an unfair and overwhelming physical advantage over biological females, thus making it unfair in physically demanding competitions such as swimming or other sports.
South Carolina isn’t the only state doing this. Iowa did this too, trying to keep sports natural and pure.