Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a bill that bans transgender girls from participating in female sports events

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has signed a bill prohibiting transgender student-athletes from competing on teams that do not match their birth certificate gender. According to a notice placed on the Texas legislature's website, the law will take effect on January 18.

The new law has been criticized as a cruel rule that will make life even more difficult for children who are already struggling. It was needed, according to supporters, to keep competition fair and safeguard girls from competitors who were bigger and stronger.

In recent months, Abbott has placed a greater emphasis on issues such as abortion, gun rights, and voting restrictions, ahead of a March primary election in which he will face Republican candidates who accuse him of being insufficiently conservative. Some large Texas firms have reacted angrily to the initiatives, claiming that the current political climate makes it difficult to lure job seekers to the state.

“We are heartbroken,” said Ricardo Martinez, the chief executive of Equality Texas, a nonprofit focused on discrimination targeting LGBTQ people. “Politicians willingly overlooked the evidence of harm that filing, hearing, and debating these bills has on transgender and LGB+ people in our community.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign, which campaigns for LGBTQ rights, Texas became the tenth — and largest — state to implement a ban prohibiting transgender people from participating in sports. More than 280 anti-LGBTQ measures have been introduced across 33 states this year, including more than 130 expressly targeting transgender individuals, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

This year, Abbott and the Republican-controlled legislature in Texas have pursued conservative-leaning initiatives. The governor signed an executive order last month prohibiting employers from requiring Covid-19 vaccinations. He's also signed bills allowing people to carry firearms without a permit, limiting the teaching of "critical race theory," and effectively banning abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy in recent months. According to a study conducted by the Texas Politics Project in August, Abbott had 73 percent job approval among Republicans, despite his overall popularity declining over the past year.

Some corporate groups, on the other hand, have been harsher. The transgender regulation, according to Texas Competes, will make it difficult for the state to compete for the top business personnel. The letter was signed by 1,400 firms and local business associations in Texas. Some executives, mostly from smaller companies, have spoken out against the program, claiming that it jeopardizes expansion ambitions. Another organization, Don't Ban Equality in Texas, issued a statement against the abortion restrictions signed by Netflix Inc., Lyft Inc., and Trillium Asset Management.

A backlash to the bills regarded as targeting already oppressed groups, according to the chief executive of San Antonio's visitor's bureau, could cost the city millions of dollars in corporate conference revenue. Three groups that would have generated $1.4 million in hotel revenue have already stated that they will not visit Texas as a result of the attempts, according to Marc Anderson.

“In addition, we are working on a large $35 million corporate group for 2023 and they have said if this bill becomes law, they will no longer consider San Antonio,” Anderson said by email.

It's likely that the prohibition will be challenged in court. When Idaho approved a similar law in 2020, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of a transgender student who wanted to join the women's cross country and track teams at Boise State University. In August 2020, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, putting the statute on hold while the matter is being resolved.

The Human Rights Campaign also filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in June after he signed a similar restriction into law. If the state's upcoming motion to dismiss the action, which was filed on behalf of a transgender middle school kid who plays girls' soccer, the matter will likely go to trial next year. The Human Rights Campaign has stated that it will sue over similar laws in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Even in the absence of a restriction, transgender athletes' involvement in sports has sparked legal action. Three cisgender high school girls in Connecticut have filed a lawsuit attempting to prohibit transgender athletes from competing. After a trial judge dismissed their complaint, they appealed to the federal appeals court in Manhattan, which is currently considering the case. More than 150 athletes and almost two dozen state attorneys general signed a brief urging the appeals court to sustain the dismissal.

According to Martinez, the CEO of Equality Texas, transgender students are already being tormented at school as a result of the bill's passage.