Lawsuit filed over Florida’s ‘Fairness in Women’s Sports Act’

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida will be facing a lawsuit after the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” was signed into law.

It bans transgender girls from playing in school and college sports designated for females.

The law is being called unconstitutional and will be challenged in court. Opponents say it limits the rights of the LGBTQ community.

The law states athletes can’t participate in sports without providing a birth certificate to prove the athlete was born female.

Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said everyone deserves to be treated equally and the law denies the civil rights of young transgender people.

HRC will be filing a lawsuit against Florida and DeSantis for enacting a piece of legislation they say is discriminatory.

“We are talking about denying the very existence of transgender people. What this bill says is if you’re transgender, we’re not going to recognize your existence, we’re not going to recognize your identity, we’re going to deny you the ability to participate in sports consistent with your gender,” David said.

The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of some affected by the law.

DeSantis and Republicans said the law protects female-born athletes from competing against athletes who are physically superior to them.

The governor signed the bill on June 1 alongside a sprinter who said she lost races in the past while competing against transgender girls.

“We’re not just setting a standard, we’re also providing ways where that fairness and the equality can be enforced on behalf of our girls and women athletes,” DeSantis said.

Several states have passed similar laws.

The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” will go into effect July 1 and will apply to public middle and high schools as well as public colleges and universities.