Another victory for the GOP was that New Hampshire’s Senate agreed to pass legislation to prohibit transwomen from joining any female school or state sports teams.
In a 14-10 vote, Senate Bill 375 got the approval of the majority of the chamber and now awaits Gov. Chris Sununu’s signature. Once signed into law, New Hampshire joins 24 other states that have enacted transgender sports bans.
The bill, which was approved by the state senate on Friday, requires that all sports teams from fifth grade through college should be determined as “boys,” “girls,” or “mixed” teams and bans any biological male from joining teams assigned for “girls.”
“A strong trans girl is going to prevent a biological female from being recognized,” remarked Sen. Bill Gannon (R-Sandown), who cites his coaching experience with youth sports and parenting his daughters.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) highlighted the basketball match in Massachusetts early this year where a transgender girl injured fellow players from the rival team.
“We are standing up for opportunity, safety, and fairness,” Bradley added.
The bill was approved by House lawmakers last month, which they dubbed the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.”
For House Republicans, the bill would help preserve the integrity of women’s sports in New Hampshire.
Sununu has not yet indicated if he will back the bill. However, in an interview with WMUR-TV in Manchester, he remarked that it is “dangerous” for males transitioning to the female gender to compete in sports events against biologically female athletes. However, he insisted that he had to see the legislation in its final form before signing it into law.
“If it comes with too many other stipulations and too many restrictions that go far off field of what we’re talking about here, we could have an issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, early this year, New Hampshire House lawmakers passed a bill that will ban gender-affirming surgery for minors.
House Bill 619 initially wanted to ban all forms of gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors but was later revised to prohibit only gender-affirming surgeries.
House representatives approved the bill, including twelve Democrats. If passed into law, it would also prevent healthcare workers from referring minors from out of state for surgeries.
The state House also approved sending House Bill 396 to the Senate, which would require individuals to be classified “based on biological sex” in sports competitions, imprisonment, and use of public restrooms.
Great News !! Hope all other states do the same !!!