- Florida became the largest state on Tuesday to ban transgender athletes from competing in female school sports, stating the law would guarantee fairness for women participating in sports in schools
- Supporters of the bills say transgender female athletes have an unfair advantage
- Florida is the seventh state to pass transgender sports laws, following Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee and West Virginia
TALLAHASSEE, Florida: Florida became the largest state on Tuesday to ban transgender athletes from competing in female school sports.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill during a ceremony at a Christian school in Jacksonville, as teenage women athletes stood by his side.
He said the law would guarantee fairness for women participating in sports in schools across the state.
“I can tell you this: in Florida, girls are going to play girls’ sports and boys are going to play boys’ sports,” DeSantis said. “We are going to go based on biology, not based on ideology when we are doing sports.”
Supporters of the bills say transgender female athletes have an unfair advantage. Florida’s law defines an athlete’s sex as that stated on official documents at birth.
So far in 2021, over 30 states have introduced or passed restrictions on transgender athletes. Florida is the seventh state to pass transgender sports laws, following Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee and West Virginia.
