OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma has become the latest state to sign legislation that bans transgender students from participating in school sports.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 2, dubbed the "Save Women's Sports Act," on Wednesday morning.
The bill aims to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' or women's sports at K-12 schools or universities in the state.
Supporters of SB2 say they're trying to level the playing field for female athletes, arguing a transgender female who was born biologically male has unfair advantages over non-transgender born-female athletes. Opponents of the law say it's trying to solve a problem that isn't there and could cause transgender children emotional trauma.
"The travesty we have seen growing across the nation of men who identify as women stealing championships and titles from women who have dedicated years of their lives to being the best they can be in their sport should not be tolerated," supporter Sen. Michael Bergstrom (R-Adair) said on Facebook.
According to CNN, Oklahoma is the 13th state and third GOP-led state to enact similar sports bans.
"Why can’t we just love our children and let them exist? They aren’t political pawns," Rep. Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) said on Twitter in opposition to the measure.
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia, are states that have signed similar bans, ESPN reported.
The Associated Press reported that GOP Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed a transgender sports bill last week, but lawmakers voted to override the veto.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, since last year, at least 25 states have introduced legislation that would ban transgender girls and women from competing in girls' and women's sports, the AP reported.
