Louisiana is now the 18th state in the US to prohibit transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports teams..The state’s Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards elected not to veto or approve the bill.."It was obvious to me after two years it was going to become law whether or not I signed or vetoed the bill," Edwards said..Bel Edwards allowed the bill to pass despite previously saying he was in opposition to the legislation and vetoing a similar bill last year..During a press conference, the governor said he would not sign the bill, but he would also not veto it. Louisiana law dictates if the governor doesn’t take action, the bill becomes law..The bill had more than two-thirds majority support the legislature, meaning his veto could easily be overridden, suggesting Bel Edwards saw any action on his part as futile..The bill, titled Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, means schools must “designate intercollegiate and interscholastic athletic teams according to the biological sex of the team members.”.In the bill, the sex listed on an individual’s birth certificate is the definition of the athletes sex. It also states explicitly that trans girls and women are excluded from playing on female sports teams..The bill applies to public elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as public universities and will go into effect on August 1. It also applies to publicly funded private schools and universities..Besides allowing citizens to police the act, the bill also allows them to prosecute those who break the rules..The legislation will permit students and others to take legal action against schools that permit trans girls and women to play on female sports teams, and provides legal protection for the plaintiff whistleblowers..Edwards vetoed a similar bill in 2021 saying it was a “solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana.".On Monday, he reiterated his position, adding intentional or not, the legislation sends the wrong message to young people that they shouldn’t explore their identity and self-expression. .“I find that very distressing. I do believe that we can be better than that,” he said. .The sports ban for transgender athletes on girls and women's teams is a mission accompli for Republican Senator Beth Mizell. The bill's success has been her goal for the past two years..Mizell said the bill's purpose is to protect girls and young women from having to face athletes who have biological advantages due to their sex at birth..She told USA Today that women "... have worked too hard for too long to get to the competitive level we have attained to now face an unfair playing field.".The bill's timing coincides with controversies such as the former University of Pennsylvania trans female swimmer, Lia Thomas, who smashed a number of women's records in college swimming on the Ivy League institute's women's team last season. The issue has proven to be very divisive and has split public opinion on the issue.
