Washington D.C., Apr 16, 2021 / 05:00 am America/Denver (CNA).
State legislatures of West Virginia and Kansas recently passed bills restricting participation in women’s sports to one’s biological sex and not gender identity.
New legislation in West Virginia would require participation in single-sex sports teams and events to be based on the “biological sex of the athlete at birth.” The bill passed the state legislature on April 9.
A Kansas bill would similarly mandate that “female student athletic teams only include members who are biologically female.” That bill also passed the state legislature on April. A bill in Montana would likewise require single-sex sports at public schools “to be designated based on biological sex.” That bill is scheduled for a senate hearing on April 19, and awaits a final vote before being sent to the governor’s desk for signature.
In a statement, Christiana Holcomb, legal counsel for the group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said, “Allowing males to compete in girls’ sports destroys fair competition and women’s athletic opportunities.”
ADF is currently representing female track runners in their lawsuit against Connecticut, over the state’s policy that allowed biological males identifying as transgender females to compete in women’s sports.