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Protests against the new law in Texas: Critics see the campaign as a discriminatory attack on transgender people
Photo: Jay Janner / AP
The Texas House of Representatives wants to ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports. The law was passed after three failed attempts. It is almost certain that Republican Governor Greg Abbott will sign the bill. Texas follows seven other US states in which Republican lawmakers passed similar laws in 2021 alone.
The regulations are part of a nationwide Republican campaign to prevent transgender women and girls from playing on female sports teams. Republicans argue that they want to protect fair competition. Equality activists, however, have criticized the campaign as a discriminatory attack on transgender people: there is no evidence that trans women and girls dominate the sport. Political observers suspect that the campaign should primarily target "hardcore Republicans".
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, and West Virginia have already passed similar transgender sports laws in 2021.
The regulation repeatedly encountered legal hurdles.
When Idaho passed a similar law last year, it was blocked by federal court.
In Virginia, despite a law, the federal court ruled that an 11-year-old transgender girl was allowed to train in a school.
The Republicans in Texas had very conservative policies in 2021.
The Abortion Act banned abortions in most cases - a US federal judge suspended it after protests.
Texans are also allowed to carry handguns openly with a license under a new law.
íme / Reuters