Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed legislation that bans transgender athletes from participation in girls’ high school or college sports on Wednesday.
The Save Women's Sports Act passed the Oklahoma House by a 79-18 vote last week, and was subsequently approved by the state Senate.
“This bill…to us in Oklahoma is just common sense,” Stitt said at the signing. “When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls. Boys should compete against boys. And let's be very clear: That's all this bill says.”
The bill reads in part, “athletic teams designated for ‘females’, ‘women’ or ‘girls’ shall not be open to students of the male sex.”
Opponents of the bill denounced the law as contrary to federal civil rights law.
“Ultimately, SB2 violates the United States Constitution and federal civil rights law, puts Oklahoma at risk of losing federal funding, and harms transgender youth, all to solve a problem that does not exist,” Tamya Cox-Toure, head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Oklahoma chapter, said in a statement.
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