Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday pledged to sign his state’s version of a bill to protect fairness in women’s sports by prohibiting transgender athletes who were born males from competing against females.
In a surprise move this week, Florida Republicans in the state House revived the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act after it died in Senate committee by attaching it as an amendment to SB 1028, a charter school bill. The legislation would ban males from competing on women’s sports teams at the public secondary and collegiate level.
The House passed the bill Wednesday in a vote of 79-37, mostly along party lines. The state Senate passed the bill 23-16 later that evening. If DeSantis signs the bill into law, Florida would be the seventh state to adopt a form of the Fairness in Women’s Sports bill though 30 states are considering similar legislation.
At a Fox News town hall Thursday evening with other Republican governors, Gov. DeSantis said he was eager to sign the bill.
