Less than a week after Republican
Governor Glenn Youngkin took office, a GOP senator has introduced a
bill that seeks to prohibit transgender students from participating
in sports.
Senator Jennifer Kiggans, a Republican
from Virginia Beach, introduced Senate Bill 766 on Friday.
The bill would require that public and
private schools organize their sports teams based on the “biological
sex” of the athletes. The proposed legislation would also provide
“civil penalties for students and schools that suffer harm as a
result of a violation of the bill.”
During his gubernatorial campaign,
Youngkin reiterated his opposition to transgender students playing on
sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity.
In a tweet posted after the bill was
introduced, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia
said that it would “not tolerate” excluding transgender youth
from sports.
“ATTN: SB 766 to ban trans kids in
Virginia from participating in sports has just dropped,” the group
wrote. “Let's be clear: This is part of an ongoing, nationwide
effort to exclude trans people from enjoying the benefits of sports
like their cisgender peers. We won't tolerate this.”