The US state of Florida has become the latest to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female sports at public schools and colleges, according to the BBC.
Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed the measure into law on Tuesday. The law says women and girls must play on the teams of the biological sex on their birth certificate.
Al Jazeera reports that some 100 bills have been introduced in more than 20 states this year that would limit transgender rights. Transgender advocates have called on businesses to boycott states that pass such laws and US corporate leaders have spoken out against them.
Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee and West Virginia have passed similar legislation and South Dakota’s governor has signed an executive order supporting a sports ban. All have Republican governors.
According to the BBC, LGBT activists have denounced the Florida decision as ‘discriminatory’, with one group vowing to launch a legal challenge.
But governor DeSantis said: ‘We believe that is very important that the integrity of these competitions are preserved. We’re gonna go based on biology, not based on ideology when we’re doing sports.’
The move comes as Republican-led states push back against pro-LGBT policies supported by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden.
Florida’s law defines an athlete’s sex as that stated on official documents at birth.
Called the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, the law says sports teams for girls and women ‘may not be open to students of the male sex’.
Supporters of the bill say transgender female athletes have an unfair advantage, having been designated male at birth but having since transitioned.
However, critics say the banning of transgender girls and women from sports is unnecessary and discriminatory.