Former NCAA swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler is among those who describe Senate Bill 456, also known as the Riley Gaines Act, as "common sense." It is named after a prominent former female swimmer who has spoken out against having to compete against and share a locker room with male swimmer William "Lia" Thomas."
"It's crazy that we even have to go to the lengths of passing bills … that prevent men from competing in women's sports, defining sex-based terms like 'man', 'woman', 'male', 'female', 'boy', 'girl,'" The Riley Gaines Center ambassador tells AFN. "That's simply what these do; they define sex-based terms, and they protect women's sports, keeping men out of them."
That, in turn, protects women's opportunities and physical safety both on and off the field.
"We've seen where female athletes have been seriously injured on the courts, on the fields – female field hockey players having all their teeth knocked out due to a puck that was hit by a male opponent," Wheeler gives as an example.
In addition to safety, she says Senate Bill 456 also protects fairness.
"22 states have now passed some sort of bill that protects women's sports," the former swimmer reports. "Whether it be the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act or the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, various names it goes by, but it essentially does the same thing."
Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) signed West Virginia's bill into law earlier this week after the Republican-controlled state Senate (32-1) and the House of Delegates voted (90-8) to pass it. Nearly all of the support came from Republicans in both chambers, while all opposition came from Democrats. One Senate Democrat joined Republicans in backing the bill.
West Virginia is the 17th state to require people to use sex-segregated spaces that align with their biological sex as opposed to their stated gender identity. Florida, Utah, and Wyoming have laws in place that apply to all government-owned buildings and spaces; Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Ohio's measures cover K-12 schools and at least some government-owned buildings.
Laws in place in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia only apply to K-12 schools.
Wheeler says her team will keep working until all 50 states pass some sort of legislation like this.
