Florida Governor Starts Pride Month With Anti-Trans Bill
On the first day of Pride month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that bars transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams in public schools. The bill will take effect on July 1 and includes middle schools, high schools, and colleges.
Although scientists and doctors have repeatedly confirmed that trans athletes do not have unfair advantages in sports, GOP lawmakers continue to propose anti-trans bills statewide. Florida’s bill, which is likely to be challenged as unconstitutional in court, requires transgender student-athletes to affirm their biological sex by providing proof such as a birth certificate, but it is unclear whether all girls must show their birth certificates, or only those suspected of being transgender.
Originally, the bill contained contents that were even more invasive, such as a requirement that transgender athletes in high schools and colleges undergo testosterone or genetic testing and submit to having their genitalia examined, but it was later removed.
According to DeSantis, students who feel they have been deprived of an athletic opportunity as a result of a violation of this anti-trans bill could receive civil remedies. The proposal allows another student to sue if a school allows a transgender girl or woman to play on a girls’ or women’s team. When asked…
