SOUTH DAKOTA (Transatlantic Today) – On Thursday, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem published a national ad pushing laws aimed at transgender youngsters.
The video promotes a law presented by Noem, a Republican, last month without using the words “transgender” or “trans.” According to NBC NEWS, the bill would prohibit trans females from participating in every female athletics team at school, even club teams.
It would be “the strongest law in the nation protecting female sports,” according to Noem, the first woman to serve as governor of South Dakota.
The ad opens, “In South Dakota, only girls play girls’ sports.” “Why? Because of Governor Kristi Noem’s leadership.” Noem has fought for girls’ sports for years and has never given up.
The video, which promotes Noem’s re-election campaign in 2022, will air on prime-time nationwide news shows from Thursday, according to Noem.
Noem vetoed a similar law in March, citing “significant unintended consequences” in allowing trans women and girls to compete in female sports leagues.
She reversed course this month, introducing a measure that requires students to take part in sports leagues that actually match the gender listed on their birth certificates.
In athletic rivalry, “common sense tells us that males have an unfair physical advantage over females,” the governor stated in a statement to the media.
The ad was slammed by LGBTQ activists on Thursday.
Under certain conditions, major sports organizations such as the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee permit transgender and non-binary players to compete on teams that match their gender identification. In November, the International Olympic Committee modified its transgender athlete guidelines, repealing rules that mandated contending trans players to undergo “medically unnecessary” treatments.
However, as per the Human Rights Campaign, South Dakota and 29 more states imposed limitations on trans athletes the previous year. Ten states have enacted legislation limiting trans athletes, up to nine last year.
Since the beginning of the year, state legislators in at least 7 states have proposed legislation restricting transgender and non-binary minors’ rights. Several of these bills are similar to Noem’s bill, in that they prohibit trans children from participating in school sports leagues that correspond to their gender identity.
