After Two Years of Opposition from LGBTQ+ Community, South Carolina Senate Passes Anti-Transgender Student Sports Bill
Today the South Carolina Senate voted to pass H.4608, an anti-transgender bill that restricts transgender students from participating in school sports in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. The bill, which has already passed the House, now heads toward Governor Henry McMaster’s desk.
Click here to join us in urging Gov. McMaster to VETO this discriminatory bill.
H.4608’s passage comes after more than two years of LGBTQ+ and allied South Carolinians resisting similar efforts to ban transgender youth from sports participation. Between 2020 and 2022 advocates defeated 8 different versions of this bill, demonstrating consistent and powerful leadership from transgender advocates in SC. SC United for Justice & Equality is a coalition of more than 30 organizations committed to LGBTQ equality in SC that fought hard against the bill.
Ivy Hill, a leader in the coalition who serves as Executive Director of Gender Benders and Community Health Program Director of Campaign for Southern Equality, said today:
“The passage of this extreme political attack of a bill brings up so many feelings: Sadness for the trans youth who will now experience school as a place of exclusion; Anger at the lawmakers who perpetuated violence and ignorance with their vote; and fear for the many youth who will see this news and feel rejected and erased. I also feel pride for the thousands of South Carolinians who have taken action against this attack, and I know that we will never stop fighting. Our coalition is exploring every strategy possible to ensure dignity and equality for transgender people in SC.”
“We urge Senator McMaster to do what six governors before him – including three Republican governors – have done: Veto this unnecessary, dangerous bill. To do anything less is to waste taxpayer dollars defending a bill that has already been ruled unconstitutional by two federal judges, including one in West Virginia. H.4608 is a frivolous attempt to address a manufactured problem, and it has no place in South Carolina.
Dr. Elizabeth Mack, a board certified pediatric critical care physician and pediatrician in Charleston, SC, said today:
“As a born and raised South Carolinian, it is my expectation that our state’s elected officials make decisions based on evidence and listen to our state’s experts. We must not play into fear or treat some of our most vulnerable community members – our transgender young people – like political pawns. Transgender youth face higher rates of bullying, mental health issues, and even suicide than their non-transgender peers, which we sadly see routinely in pediatric ICUs. This bill tells a population that is already at risk, ‘We do not support you,’ and I am devastated to see it pass. We must protect our future – our young people.”
This week nearly one hundred South Carolinians who oppose H.4608 came out to the Statehouse to show their strong support for transgender dignity and equality and oppose the bill. Advocates packed the Senate gallery to declare their support for trans youth and gathered outside of the Statehouse to center trans and queer joy, create art, and share their stories over video and through an open mic process. Attendees included medical residents from MUSC, feminist groups including WREN – Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network, trans and queer advocates, parents, trans youth, and more.
Advocates from the SC United for Justice & Equality coalition are available to speak with media about the legislation and its damaging impact on transgender youth.