Oklahoma Becomes 13th State To Limit Sports Access For Transgender Students

Topline

Oklahoma is now the thirteenth state to restrict transgender women and girls’ participation in school sports, after Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the “Save Women’s Sports Act” on Wednesday— and other state legislatures are considering following suit.

Key Facts

The law prohibits transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams in college and in high school.

At a bill-signing ceremony, Stitt said he was “protecting women’s sports” by “ensuring a level playing field for female athletes,” according to NBC News.

Stitt said “girls should compete against girls” and “boys should compete against boys,” according to the Associated Press.

The bill passed the Oklahoma House and Senate last week.

Key Background

The Oklahoma law follows a flurry of measures targeting transgender students’ ability to participate in sports introduced by Republican-led legislatures across the country. A dozen other states have already enacted bans, according to NBC, including Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. Utah became the most recent state to do so last week, when state lawmakers overrode Republican Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of a bill banning transgender students’ participation in girls’ sports. The Oklahoma legislation also comes two days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits “classroom instruction” involving “sexual orientation or gender identity” through the third grade, and bars any conversations about those topics for older students if they’re conducted “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

Chief Critic

The laws have sparked backlash from civil rights groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, which said in a statement Oklahoma’s bill will exclude “all transgender girls from participating in school athletics, increasing their isolation and denying them the social, physical and emotional benefits of sports. Banning transgender girls’ participation “solves nothing” and “causes great harm,” said the organization, which is the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S.

What To Watch For

Other states to follow. A host of state legislatures are considering similar legislation restricting transgender students’ access to sports, including in Arizona, where the House recently passed an anti-transgender sports bill, and in Kansas, where the state Senate this week passed a bill banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.

Further Reading

Oklahoma governor signs transgender sports ban into law (AP)

Florida Gov. DeSantis Signs ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Into Law Despite Controversy (Forbes)

Oklahoma governor signs transgender sports ban (NBC News)