Louisiana becomes 18th state to enact a transgender athlete ban
Louisiana became the 18th state to bar transgender women and girls from playing on female school sports teams Monday.
Louisiana became the 18th state to bar transgender women and girls from playing on female school sports teams Monday after the state's Democratic governor chose not to veto or approve the bill.
Both chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature passed the bill last month, and Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a news conference Monday that he would not sign the bill, but he also wouldn't veto it. Under Louisiana law, any bill passed by the end of the Legislative session becomes law if the governor doesn't take action on it.
Edwards said the bill "was going to become law whether or not I signed it or vetoed it," citing the fact that it had more than two-thirds majority support in both chambers of the Legislature — which would allow for a legislative veto override.
The bill, called the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, requires that schools "designate intercollegiate and interscholastic athletic teams according to the biological sex of the team members." It defines "biological sex" as the sex listed on a person's birth certificate at the time of their birth. It also explicitly states that teams designated for females are "not open to participation" by anyone whose birth certificate said male, which specifically excludes trans girls and women.
The bill will become law Aug. 1 and will apply to public elementary, middle and high schools, as well as public universities. It will also apply to any private school or university that receives public funds.
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