Louisiana legislature sends transgender athlete bill to governor’s desk

The Louisiana state House on Thursday passed a bill that would ban transgender girls from participating on a sports team that aligns with their gender identity. 

The legislation, S.B. 156, passed overwhelmingly in the state’s lower chamber, 77-17, and passed in the state Senate 29-6 earlier this month.  

The bill will now head to Gov. John Bel Edwards’s (D) desk.

And while the Louisiana Democrat has signaled that he does not support bills that restrict transgender athletes from sports teams or transgender medical treatment, both chambers of the state are almost guaranteed to override his decision. 

“I am hopeful the state Legislature does not see fit to advance these bills,” the governor said in April, according to The Advocate.

The legislation requires that intercollegiate, interscholastic or intramural athletic teams allow players to participate based on the “biological sex” of the team members, according to the bill’s text.

In addition, it states that teams “designated for females are not open to participation by biological males.”  

Proponents of the bill argue that they are protecting female athletes from unequal competition.

“Allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports shatters girls’ equal opportunities,” Rep. Laurie Schlegel (R), a proponent of the bill in the Louisiana state House, said according to The Associated Press. “Let’s protect our girls.”

However, state Rep. Mandie Landry (D) argued that the measure opens up transgender youth to be questioned about their gender, actions she claims could lead to abuse. 

“Don’t you think that opens up that child athlete to abuse by coaches, which is rampant in this country?” Landry asked.

News of the Louisiana bill comes amid a slew of bills — largely proposed in Republican-lead legislatures — aimed at barring transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams. 

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Louisiana is one of more than 30 states that have considered or passed restrictions on transgender athletes. 

HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement released Thursday that he hopes Edwards will veto the “terrible legislation.”

“The advancement of this discriminatory bill is shameful and sends a harmful message to LGBTQ youth. Tragically, this bill is just the latest in a wave of attacks on trans and non-binary people in Louisiana and across the nation,” he said.

“Legislators and supporters who say it is about a level playing field cannot even provide an example of one incident where this issue has even occurred,” he added. “I hope Gov. John Bel Edwards keeps his word and vetoes this terrible legislation.”