North Carolina Legislature Approves Bill Banning Transgender Athletes From Women’s, Girls’ Sports

North Carolina’s GOP-controlled state House voted on Thursday to approve a bill banning the participation of transgender women and girls in sports outside of their biological sex. The ban covers athletics from middle school through the collegiate level. 

The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” states that “athletic teams designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex.” The bill does not impose a similar ban on biological females’ participation in athletic teams designated for men or boys. 

The bill, which passed in its final amended version, was approved by the Republican-controlled House in a 62-43 vote. The state’s Senate voted 31-17 to advance the bill earlier this week, which now heads to the desk of the state’s Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat. 

In a statement to CNN, Cooper’s office said legislators were “spending their time on political culture wars” over valuable issues like teacher pay. “Republican governors in other states have vetoed these bills that bully vulnerable children because they know these decisions should be left to schools, parents and sports associations.” 

Despite the Governor’s opposition to the bill, the Republican supermajority in North Carolina’s House means a veto will likely be overridden — as has already happened multiple times during his tenure. In May, House Republicans overrode Cooper’s veto of a 12-week abortion ban. 

In 2023 alone, more than 550 bills attempting to restrict transgender individuals’ participation in public life and access to medical care have been introduced throughout the country — 89 have passed. In April, the House of Representatives approved a national ban on transgender women’s participation in women’s and girls’ sports; the measure has not been taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate.