South Carolina lawmakers recently rejected a bill for the second time that would’ve banned transgender students from playing on girls’ sports teams in middle and high school.
The bill represented the second time the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee rejected a transphobic bill. In March, a similar bill was shelved and lawmakers attempted to redraft a proposal.
The bill rejected on Tuesday would’ve permitted students and school districts to file lawsuits if they experience “direct or indirect harm” as a result of trans students being allowed to compete according to their gender.
More than two dozen other states have considered or passed similar legislation in 2021. On Wednesday, West Virginia governor Jim Justice became the fourth Republican governor to approve a measure limiting the participation of transgender youth in school sport.
Ivy Hill, executive director of the trans community group Gender Benders, said the local LGBTQ+ community is “relieved and grateful.”
“For months, transgender young people and the many South Carolinians who love them have been making their voices heard to oppose these discriminatory bills, and we won’t stop until we have ensured a South Carolina where trans students are included, affirmed, and afforded the same opportunities as any other student,” they said in a statement, according to them.