Published On: Wed, Jun 2nd, 2021

Florida Governor Signs “Fairness in Women’s Sport Act” Into Law

On Tuesday, Gov. Ron Desantis signed new bill that will not allow transgender girls to compete in women’s sports.  

According to WPTV’s article, “The measure, which has been heavily criticized by both Democrats and the NCAA, states that ‘athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex.’” 

Gov. Ron DeSantis annouces his reasons for signing the “Fairness In Women’s Sport Act” in news conference on Tuesday. Photo sourced from WPTV.

“The governor attempted to bolster his argument on Tuesday by showing short video clips of Terry Miller, a transgender girl and track star in Connecticut who’s been allowed to compete in women’s sports since 2017.” Matt Papaycik wrote in his article. 

This action coincidentally came on the first day of the LGBTQ Pride Month, which is a nationally celebrated month to honor the anniversary of the 1969’s Stonewall Riots and spread awareness on issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning Americans. 

This did not go unnoticed to many people including the Human Rights Campaign who tweeted, “We will be filing a lawsuit to block this arbitrary, discriminatory ban. #LetKidsPlay” 

Human Rights Campaign speaks out on the timing of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new law. Photo sourced from Tampa Bay Times.

The law applies to all public “interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports,” in Florida. 

Although the law will ban biological males from joining women’s sports, it will allow biological women to compete in, “athletic teams or sports designated for males, men, or boys.”

“It’s not a message to anything other than saying, we’re gonna protect fairness in women’s sports,” DeSantis said. “We believe it’s important to have integrity in the competition, and we think it’s important that they’re able to compete on a level playing field.”

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