On the eve of Transgender Day of Visibility, Oklahoma has become the 13th state to bar trans girls from participating in school sports. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed Senate Bill 2, officially known as the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” on Wednesday, following Utah, Iowa, and South Dakota as the fourth state to pass such a law this year.
At the signing, Gov. Stitt said that enacting the legislation was “just common sense,” in comments reported by NBC News. “When it comes to sports and athletics: Girls should compete against girls. Boys should compete against boys,” the governor added.
As written, SB 2 states that girls sports teams “shall not be open to students of the male sex,” and requires the parent or guardian of any student athlete to “sign an affidavit acknowledging the biological sex of the student at birth.”
After the measure was initially cleared by the state’s House of Representatives in May of last year, Oklahoma Senate President Greg Treat (R) called the bill “a solution in search of a problem,” saying that he he hadn’t “seen the problem in Oklahoma” with trans students participating in school sports, as reported by local ABC affiliate KOCO.
But the bill was revived and rushed through the Oklahoma Senate last week, sparking outrage from LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations like the Human Rights Campaign.
“Last year, Oklahoma Senate President Greg Treat rightly called S.B. 2 a solution in search of a problem,” the HRC’s state legislative director and senior counsel Cathryn Oakley said in a statement. “Nothing has changed, yet Governor Stitt and Oklahoma legislators have sadly decided that harming Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children and their families is worthwhile if it’s politically helpful with the extreme elements of their base.”
Nearly three-quarters of American adults said they support trans rights in a recent HRC survey. Democratic lawmakers have pointed out that even though many of their Republican colleagues often don’t support anti-trans legislation on principle, they are continuing to push such bills across the country to score political points with far-right voters.
Indeed, just last week Republican governors in Utah and Indiana vetoed similar legislation that called for banning trans participation in school sports, citing the wellbeing and mental health of trans kids, the lack of any problem with trans participation in school sports, and potential litigation. (The veto in Utah has since been overridden by the state legislature and enacted into law.)
Advocates also pointed out that legislation like S.B. 2 targets trans people rather than addressing the real challenges faced by constituents.
“SB 2 is just one of many bills we have seen attacking our Two Spirit, transgender, and nonbinary communities this session, while overlooking the real issues with gender equality in sports when it comes to funding, resources, pay equity, and more,” said Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, in a statement.
“Transgender students already live and go to school in our state,” Cox-Touré contined. “They play sports and enjoy time with their friends, and they deserve the chance to succeed and thrive like any other student.”
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