A bill signed by Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire prohibits transgender athletes in grades 5 through 12 from participating on teams that correspond with their gender identity. This puts the state among the almost half of the US that have enacted legislation of a similar nature.
The Republican-led Legislature enacted a law requiring schools to identify all teams as coed, girls, or boys. Eligibility would be established by looking up children’ birth certificates “or other evidence.”
Legislative supporters claimed that their goal was to shield young women from harm caused by bigger, more powerful transgender athletes.
According to a statement released by Sununu after the bill’s signing on Friday, it “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” It starts to work after 30 days.
Sununu was chastised by Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire, a union that represents workers in public schools.
“Public schools should be safe, welcoming environments for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” she stated. “Shame on Governor Sununu for signing into law this legislation that excludes students from athletics, which can help foster a sense of belonging that is so critical for young people to thrive.”
On Friday, Sununu also approved a law that forbids transgender kids from having gender-affirming surgery. That is operative as of January 1, 2025. The care is recommended by significant medical societies and has been provided in the US for over ten years.
“This bill focuses on protecting the health and safety of New Hampshire’s children and has earned bipartisan support,” Sununu stated.
Another bill that would have permitted public and private organizations to discriminate based on “biological sex” in detention centers, multi-person restrooms, and locker rooms was vetoed by Sununu.
Sununu cited a 2018 law that outlawed discrimination based on gender identity in housing, public accommodations, and employment. According to him, the problem with the existing measure “lies in the fact that it sometimes tries to address issues that haven’t come up in New Hampshire, which leads to needless conflict.”
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The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics declared in April that transgender women would not be permitted to play women’s sports. The Council of Presidents of the national association of small colleges voted 20-0 to endorse a policy limiting participation in women’s sports to students allocated to the female gender at birth.
Additionally, the new policy prohibits nonbinary or transgender kids from obtaining hormone therapy that normalizes masculinity.
West Virginia and Idaho, meanwhile, are requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court reconsider decisions that had stopped state legislation that forbade transgender athletes from participating in sports from being enforced.
