Effective Immediately: GOP Governor Bans Trans Athletes From Female Sports

The ongoing debate over whether transgender females should be allowed to compete with biologically female athletes continues to rage in states across the U.S.

For her part, however, Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is coming down firmly on the side of protecting girls and women who were born female.

Progressive activists have long argued that trans athletes who were born male should be allowed to compete against those who were female from birth.

That argument has been met with plenty of backlash, however.

Reynolds is clearly among those who believe transgender females have no place on teams meant for women and girls.

She laid out her stance on the issue this week upon signing a related bill into law.

According to CBS News:

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Thursday that bans transgender girls and women from playing on school-affiliated female sports teams. The legislation goes into effect immediately.

“This is a victory for girls’ sports in Iowa,” Reynolds said Thursday in a statement. “No amount of talent, training or effort can make up for the natural physical advantages males have over females. It’s simply a reality of human biology. Forcing females to compete against males is the opposite of inclusivity and it’s absolutely unfair.”

Many athletes and commentators have spoken out against the trend of allowing individuals who were born male to dominate sports created specifically for females.

If transgender athletes don't have an unfair physiological advantage in women's sport–because the gender we're assigned at birth is irrelevant–then why don't transgender athletes who were born as women ever dominate men's sports?

— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) February 17, 2022

A transgender woman who won a men’s Olympic decathlon gold medal, is shamed & abused by a vicious trans activist for saying transgender women have an unfair biological advantage over female athletes. This is how they try to silence the truth. Disgusting. 👇👇 https://t.co/Rx7Z0R3dby

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 22, 2021

The guidelines distributed to journalists say that claims transgender athletes have an unfair advantage over others are “misinformation.’’

Laurel Hubbard & Orwellian lunacy. Again. https://t.co/r6OFa2GDNl pic.twitter.com/DVbNky6XA1

— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) August 2, 2021

The editor of one of the nation’s top swimming magazines says that the advantage a transgender swimmer has in women’s sports is just like the unfair advantage athletes who dope have over opponents. https://t.co/eLQ6WC9kEH

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 21, 2021

Although leftist activists generally ignore or dismiss such concerns, Reynolds is not the first governor to sign a law meant to keep transgender athletes out of female sports.

Of course, a similar law enacted by GOP West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was subsequently struck down in court.

As Politico reported last year:

A federal judge decided Wednesday to temporarily block a West Virginia law that bars transgender women and girls from participating on school sports teams that match their gender identity.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 11-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, a soon-to-be middle schooler looking to try out for her school’s girls cross-country team. Lawyers on behalf of Pepper-Jackson argued the West Virginia law discriminates on the “basis of sex” and “transgender status,” violating both the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, a federal education law that prevents sex-based discrimination.

Here’s how Reynolds defended her position on the issue during a press conference last year.

Do you agree with the new Iowa law?