Wyoming continues its descent into hell. After banning the abortion pill (which allows 54% of abortions in the United States) a few days earlier, this western state passed a law banning transgender athletes from playing on women’s teams. This law applies to interscholastic tournaments, for all students from CM1 to Terminal.
Wyoming thus becomes the 19th state to adopt this type of transphobic measure to limit the practice of sports.
The governor passes the bill without signing it
Republican Gov. Mark Gordon chose not to veto the bill, saying he supported the ” overall goal of maintaining equity in women’s competitive sports “. Sparing the goat and cabbage, he did not even sign the text, justifying his choice in an official letter: ” This prohibition is excessively strict, discriminatory, does not take sufficient account of individual factors or extenuating circumstances and ignores the fundamental principles of equality. “, as reported by our colleagues from El País. Remember that last week, this same governor called on Wyoming lawmakers to enshrine a blanket ban on abortion in the Wyoming constitution.
A law that is part of a larger legislative crusade against trans people in the United States
The Women’s Team Prohibition Act goes into effect July 1 and will ban male students to compete in sports teams designed for female students “. This law is in line with a dozen such proposals, made by elected Republicans across the country, to limit the rights of trans people. In the curators’ sights we find in particular drag shows, i.e. restrooms, locker rooms and other genre venues to which access to trans people is prohibited.
L’ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming), a union for the protection of civil liberties, has protested against the unconstitutionality of the law, in violation of the Civil Rights Act, without indicating whether it intends to initiate legal proceedings. In parallel, the LGBTQIA+ rights association Wyoming Equality he promised a trial and said he had contacted several associations that could join them in this trial.
Provisions established by law in the event of a judgment
The text of the law specifies that in the event of legal action, the law would be suspended and a provisional commission, composed of five representatives of the school activities of the institution concerned, would be mobilized to decide on a case-by-case basis based on the suitability of its students to whether or not to be in gender groups, which they don’t would not match the gender assigned to the student at birth “.
Idaho, a state bordering Wyoming, was the first to ban athletes from certain sports or teams due to their trans identity in 2020. A law that had paved the way for other conservative states, such as Florida, Carolina del South, Tennessee or Texas. A momentum that does not weaken, while in Kansas the Democratic governor Laura Kelly vetoed a similar bill for the third consecutive year. Lawmakers plan to reverse this decision (or at least try to) in the coming weeks, revealing, once again, the urgent need to better protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
