Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill on Thursday that bans transgender athletes from competing on girl’s or women’s sports teams.
Mississippi will become the first state this year to enact a ban against transgender people. Still, more than 20 states are proposing restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year.
Conservative lawmakers are responding to an executive order signed by President Joe Biden on January 20 that bans discrimination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere.
Alphonso David, president of the LGBTQ civil rights group Human Rights Campaign, condemned the Mississippi bill.
“There is simply no justification for banning transgender girls and women for participating in athletics other than discrimination,” David said after the House passed it o March 3.
Mississippi’s Senate Bill 2536 is set to become law on July 1, although a legal challenge is possible.
