Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a
Republican, on Friday signed a bill that prohibits transgender
athletes from competing on girls or women's sports teams.
Ivey signed House Bill 391 just three
days after she received it.
The bill states that a public K-12
school “may never allow a biological male to participate on a
female team.”
According to the Human Rights Campaign
(HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, more than 250
anti-LGBT bills have been introduced in state legislatures this
session. Sixty-six bills similar to HB 391 are under consideration.
“HB 391 is nothing more than a
politically motivated bill designed to discriminate against an
already vulnerable population,” HRC President Alphonso David said
in a statement. “By signing this legislation, Gov. Ivey is
forcefully excluding transgender children. Let’s be clear here:
transgender children are children. They deserve the same opportunity
to learn valuable skills of teamwork, sportsmanship, and healthy
competition with their peers. Simply put, Alabamans deserve better
than lawmakers who legislate against the health and safety of all
kids for cheap political gain.”
The bill was sponsored by
Representative Scott Stadthagen, a Republican from Hartselle.
Stadhagen thanked Ivey for her leadership, saying that she was
“protecting the rights of Alabama's female athletes.”
Earlier this month, the NCAA, the
college athletics regulatory body, warned that it would only hold
championships in locations “free of discrimination.”