In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Idaho Governor Brad Little made some time to sign two bills into law on Monday that effectively limits the rights of transgender people.
One of them bans transgender girls from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, while the other prohibits transgender people from changing their gender on Idaho birth certificates, according to CNN.
House Bill 500, also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, says “athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex.” The measure says that a “dispute” about an athlete’s gender can only be resolved by examining “the student’s reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously 19 produced testosterone levels.”
Boise State runner Lindsay Hecox, who is a transgender woman that runs track, was not pleased about the bill and spoke out against it on Monday, saying, “it specifically targets people like me and all transgender female athletes and denies us the opportunity to compete in sports.”
