South Dakota passes horrific bill banning transgender athletes from school sports
According to a report from the Argus Leader, the state’s Senate passed Gov. Kristi Noem’s transphobic bill on 19 January. After nearly an hour of deliberation, officials voted in favour of SB 46 by a 26-7 vote – with two senators excused.
The anti-LGBTQ+ decision makes the South Dakota Senate the first US chamber to pass an anti-trans law in 2022. Under the legislation, trans girls and women would be effectively banned from playing sports at their local schools.
The Senate also passed an amendment that grants students the right to sue a school, activities association or organisation for violating the horrific law.
Since the bill’s passing, Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley released a statement slamming the bill. “South Dakota’s legislature has been an innovator in discrimination against transgender people, and SB 46 continues this shameful legacy by being the very first anti-trans bill passed by a legislative chamber this year,” she said. “The South Dakota legislature has been rehashing the same conversation about trans youth participation in school sports for years and yet there still is no evidence that transgender youth participating in school sports has posed an actual problem.
