ABOVE: Gov. Kristi Noem. Photo via Noem’s Facebook page
Months after vetoing an anti-trans sports bill, Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem proposed legislation last week to bar trans women and girls from playing sports.
Noem’s draft legislation would codify two executive orders – one for K-12 students and the other for the collegiate level – she wrote shortly after vetoing a state anti-trans sports bill.
Her first order stated that “only females, based on their biological sex, as reflected on their birth certificate or affidavit provided upon initial enrollment” can participate in women’s school sports. The second made a similar declaration for college sports.
According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the South Dakota High School Activities Association still allows trans student-athletes to compete.
The proposed bill also states that if an athlete suffers direct or indirect harm due to violation of the legislation, that student has a private cause of action for relief against the school, athletic organization or college that caused the harm.
The two executive orders came after Noem praised but vetoed anti-trans legislation that the Republican-controlled state legislature passed, fearing the NCAA would take the state to court over the bill.
“This legislation does not have the problematic provisions that were included in last year’s House Bill 1217,” Noem said in a press release. “Those flawed provisions would have led to litigation for our state, as well as for the families of young South Dakota athletes – male and female alike.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Dakota condemned Noem’s proposed legislation, calling it a solution in search of a problem.
“Let’s be clear: Noem’s proposed legislation is an attack on transgender women and girls,” wrote Jett Jonelis, Advocacy Manager for the ACLU of South Dakota.
According to the organization, the bill is also illegal, violating the United States Constitution and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which protects students – including trans ones – from sex discrimination.
“This proposed legislation is clearly fueled by a fear and misunderstanding of transgender people in our state,” Jonelis said.
Noem claimed that the bill was “about fairness,” saying: “Every young woman deserves an equal playing field where she can achieve success, but common sense tells us that males have an unfair physical advantage over females in athletic competition. It is for those reasons that only girls should be competing in girls’ sports. Women have fought long and hard for equal athletic opportunities, and South Dakota will defend them, but we have to do it in a smart way.”
However, Jonelis said that if Noem’s concerns were really about “fairness” in women’s sports, she would “tackle the actual threats to women’s sports such as severe underfunding, lack of media coverage, sexist ideologies that suggest that women and girls are weak, and pay equity for coaches.”
“Nobody wins when politicians try to meddle in people’s lives like this,” Jonelis continued. “Nobody wins when we try to codify discrimination like this. Legislation like Noem’s proposed bill has been discussed and defeated before. It’s time to move on.”
The bill is the eighth attempt to ban trans athletes from competing in sports in accordance with their gender identity, according to the ACLU of South Dakota. All of the proposals failed.
The next legislative session in South Dakota begins on January 11, 2022.
