COLUMBIA, S.C. — A controversial bill that aims to ban transgender students from women’s sports teams is resurfacing in the South Carolina House.
On Thursday, a subcommittee meeting on the legislation drew crowds to the State House that were rallying for and against the proposal.
This is the third time some representatives have tried getting movement on the bill, after two similar versions of it stalled last year. House Bill 4608 is known as the “Save Women’s Sports Act.”
“Women’s sports are not under attack by trans youth in the state of South Carolina,” a protester outside of the State House, Emily Mayer, said. She added that transgender athletes should be able to participate in school sports like everyone else.
The legislation aims to prohibit students born biologically male from joining girls’ sports teams to, “maintain fairness for women’s athletic opportunities.”
During the subcommittee meeting where lawmakers heard public testimony on the bill, several LGBTQ advocates spoke, including Dylan Gunnels with The Agape Table.
“Much like the bathroom bill in the past, you’re trying to create a problem that doesn’t exist,” Gunnels said to the panel of lawmakers. “In your attempt to fix the problem, you’re creating more problems.” Gunnels worries the bill could harm trans youth by excluding them from school activities.
However, college volleyball player Peyton Thompson spoke in a press conference after the meeting to share her support of the bill. Thompson thinks allowing transgender student to participate could take opportunities away from female athletes.
“All coaches have a limited number of scholarship and roster spots,” Thompson explained. “If biological males were allowed to compete for women’s teams, they would receive many of these spots and scholarships, crushing the dreams of many young girls and robbing them from a life-changing experience.”
The earlier versions of the bill that were stopped last year only applied to middle and high school sports teams. The latest version expands the ban to include collegiate teams as well.
Lead sponsor of the bill Representative Ashley Trantham explained that many other states that have passed laws similar to the “save women’s sports act” were going back to add college teams after the fact.
Trantham said she’s confident the bill will get support in the House this time around. “There were several people that did vote against it and since then, whether they started listening to their constituents or what, they changed their minds on the votes and they want another chance to vote on it,” said Trantham
Trantham expects there to be one more meeting to hear from the public before the subcommittee votes on the bill.