Bill blocking trans girls from girls’ sports gets Senate OK

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Legislation to keep transgender athletes in Louisiana from competing on college and K-12 women’s and girls’ sport team has been approved by the state Senate with little debate.

The Advocate reports that the bill by Republican Sen. Beth Mizell of Franklinton passed Tuesday evening on a 29-6 vote. It goes next to the state House.

Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed similar legislation last year, saying it was mean-spirtited, unnecessary and could result in loss of NCAA events in the state. He has not said what he would do were the bill to pass this year.

The measure would apply to K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, if they receive state funding. “Athletic teams or sporting events designated for females, girls, or women shall not be open to students who are not biologically female,” the bill states.

Opponents of the bill say there are no known transgender athletes currently competing in the state. They said it adds to discrimination against an already marginalized group.

Backers say athletes who were born biologically male have physical advantages over biological females. Mizell said the NCAA hasn’t gone through with threats to pull events from states with similar law.