The North Carolina House has passed the Fairness in Women's Sports Act to ban biological males from girls' sports in middle school, high school, and college.
Republicans in the state have a veto-proof supermajority and can override Democrat Governor Roy Cooper should he try to squash it.
The bill states that student-athletes must play sports based on their "reproductive biology and genetics at birth." It easily passed with a vote of 73-39 — with three Democrats crossing the aisle and voting in favor.
The state Senate, which also has a Republican supermajority, will now consider the bill. They also have their version of the bill, which does not apply to college-level sports, that is expected to be considered this week.
"This bill is a bill to be inclusive, not to be exclusive," Rep. Kristin Baker, a Republican and primary sponsor of the legislation, told Fox News. "This bill is to allow fair and particularly safe, physically safe, competition."
Rep. Vernetta Alston, a Democrat, claimed during the debate on the House floor that the bill is "a pretext for bigotry and part of a larger effort to ban transgender people from living their lives."
Students in the state can currently play for which ever team they claim as their gender identity, but must request a waiver and submit medical information for approval.
The bill has gained support from Payton McNabb, a North Carolina student who was injured by a transgender athlete during a volleyball game last September. Watch the clip of Payton McNabb getting spiked in the face by a male competing with the women. Then watch her testimony she gave today for the first time publicly. I was honored to stand alongside her in NC to continue the fight to protect women's sports. pic.twitter.com/mvJmwprkaX
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 20, 2023
"I may be the first to come before you with an injury, but if this doesn't pass, I won't be the last," McNabb said in a committee meeting before the final vote, according to the Fox report.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer and political activist Riley Gaines also advocated for the bill.
On Monday, the US House passed similar legislation — which the White House has said it will veto if it passes through the Senate.
"The administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 734," the White House said in a statement. "For students nationwide, participating in sports and being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school, and learning leadership and life skills. H.R. 734 would deny access to sports for many families by establishing an absolute ban on transgender students — even those as young as elementary schoolers — playing on a team consistent with their gender identity."
"Schools, coaches, and athletic associations around the country are already working with families to develop participation rules that are fair and that take into account particular sports, grade levels, and levels of competition," the White House statement continued. "As a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level, H.R. 734 targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory."
The statement concluded, "If the President were presented with H.R. 734, he would veto it."
