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West Virginia’s Discriminatory Anti-Trans Sports Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk


 

After both chambers of West Virginia’s legislature voted to pass yet another anti-trans sports bill, crowds rallied outside the state capitol building on Saturday morning.

House Bill 3293, like dozens of other bills enacted in state legislatures around the country, aims to bar trans student athletes from competing on single-sex teams in accordance with their gender. But HB 3293 goes further than most: The text of the bill specifies that not only would athletes be forced to “confirm” their assigned gender at birth before competing on single-sex teams, all students would be required to provide their birth certificate before enrolling in public school.

Additionally, the bill stipulates that if a student fails to produce a certified copy of their birth certificate, the school principal must immediately notify law enforcement and include copies of proof of the student’s identity and age, with an explanation for the lack of a birth certificate attached.

HB 3293 was introduced by a group of 11 Republican lawmakers on March 18 and passed the West Virginia House 78-20 a week later. Last Thursday, the bill cleared the state Senate by an 18-15 vote and is now sitting on the desk of Republican governor Jim Justice after heading back to the House to approve amendments to the legislation. In comments to local media, Justice said last week that he plans to “either let it go into law or sign it,” meaning that HB 3293 could go into effect without his signature.

Local advocates, who protested at the capitol over the weekend, are hoping that Gov. Justice will change his mind.

“We are here to show that trans people do exist, we are very much alive,” said Ash Orr, the chair of local government organization the Morgantown Human Rights Commission, according to local news affiliate WTRF. He added that the crowd, who held signs reading “Trans Rights = Human Rights,” hoped to illustrate how “damaging this bill is going to be to the trans community in West Virginia,”

Andrew Schneider, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Fairness West Virginia, called the bill a “legal and financial disaster for our state” in a press release.

“Our fight is not over,” Schneider said. “We will continue fighting to defend transgender kids across West Virginia as long as it takes to defeat this extremely harmful bill. It’s time for Gov. Jim Justice to join the numerous Republicans across the country to speak out against these targeted attacks. He needs to veto this bill as soon as it makes its way to his desk.”

HB 3293 is only one of several recent attacks on West Virginia’s trans population. As previously reported by them., another bill introduced recently would bar K-12 schools from mentioning the existence of queer and trans people and would prohibit the display of pro-LGBTQ+ materials such as rainbow flags. Additionally, West Virginia is one of 10 states that bans coverage of trans-related healthcare under state Medicaid, although a class action lawsuit is seeking to challenge that.

Justice’s decision will likely be impacted by the NCAA’s latest statement, which was released Monday. The governing organization reaffirmed that it stands with trans student athletes and against the all-out legislative attacks on their right to compete alongside their peers.

“Inclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport,” the statement reads. “Our clear expectation as the Association’s top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.”



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