North Dakota passes laws banning transgender girls from playing on female sports teams

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – North Dakota has now passed two laws which prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams in K-12 and at college level.

The Republican-led state House and Senate passed the bills with veto-proof majorities.

Although there had not yet been any instance in which a transgender girl had asked to play on a North Dakota girls’ sports team, the state’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, signed the law on Tuesday, having vetoed similar legislation in 2021.

Upon signing the law, Burgum said: “Thoughtful debate over policy in this area should involve the pursuit of two goals: to continue to ensure fairness in North Dakota girls’ sports and demonstrate compassion and understanding for all North Dakota youth.”

“Over the past two years, with more than 27,000 students participating in North Dakota high school sports under current North Dakota High School Activities Association rules, there still has not been a single recorded incident of a transgender girl playing or entering the process to even ask to play on a North Dakota girls’ team,” Burgum noted. “Nevertheless, the Legislature has now resoundingly determined that restrictions beyond the 2022 NDHSAA rules for girls’ sports should be codified in state law,” he said.

Twenty other GOP-led states, including Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida, have passed similar laws pertaining to restrictions on transgender athletes.

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