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Women’s sports are under fire across America as more men are deciding they would rather be a woman, but don’t want to give up their passion for sports.
Thankfully some people aren’t buying into it.
Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota is putting her foot (and pen) down hard in defense of women’s sports. Noem announced on Monday that she will enthusiastically sign into law a bill that would limit women’s sports to biological women only.
“In South Dakota, we’re celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by defending women’s sports! I’m excited to sign this bill very soon.”
In South Dakota, we're celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by defending women's sports! I'm excited to sign this bill very soon. https://t.co/OU15HOwp2r
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) March 8, 2021
Unsurprisingly, the bill was met with fierce opposition by the ACLU. The advocacy group testified against the bill, with Jett Jonelis saying,
“In an attempt to ‘level the playing field,’ House Bill 1217 excludes an entire group of women and girls from meaningful participation in sports … House Bill 1217 isn’t about protecting fairness in women’s sports. It’s about erasing and excluding trans people from participation in all aspects of public life.”
NPR reported that critics are calling it a discriminatory violation of Title 7 and 9 on the basis of sex. Ironic, considering this law is literally protecting sexual uniqueness that has been recognized for centuries.
One Twitter user had the nerve to call the legislation hateful:
“This is a hateful piece of legislation. State gov’t needs to stay in their lane. This is and should be a school district discussion, not political. I suspect it will be challenged in the courts.”
This is a hateful piece of legislation. State gov't needs to stay in their lane. This is and should be a school district discussion, not political. I suspect it will be challenged in the courts.
— Brinker (@Brinker82084594) March 8, 2021
South Dakota isn’t the only state making this move. Mississippi’s state House also passed a bill banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. The Magnolia State’s House voted 81-28 and is expected to be signed into state law.
Something interesting to note is that the heavily populated Republican majority in the South Dakota Senate was not in unison over the legislation. The reason for this is that one biological male has played in women’s sports in the past decade, thus the near-inevitable court battles this legislation will face may not be worth the efforts in passage.
While some Republicans are opposing the bill strictly on pragmatic terms, some Democrats will also adopt the narrative to appear in line with Republicans to gain the appearance of bipartisan credibility. However, the difference is huge when considering that the liberal mouthpiece will also claim that this “unnecessary law” is bigoted and discriminatory. But if it’s an unnecessary law because it hardly affects anyone, then how can it be discriminatory? These narratives are inconsistent. In regards to the naysayer tweeter above, “stay in your lane” is actually the very thing Noem is doing. State lawmakers make laws about their states. That’s the exact responsibility they’re elected to do.
