Arkansas Republican Women's Caucus introduces transgender sports bill

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The Arkansas Republican Women’s Caucus launched a legislative package on Thursday that includes a bill that would prohibit biological males who identify as female from competing in women's sports. This comes two days after Attorney General Leslie Rutledge introduced similar proposed legislation to ban transgender athletes from women's sports.

Senator Missy Irvin, R – Mountain View, and Representative Sonia Barker, R – Smackover, are sponsoring the 'Fairness in Women's Sports Act', SB354 , which was filed on Tuesday,

Supporters of the bill have argued that biologically male athletes are generally bigger, stronger and faster than biologically female athletes — putting them at an unfair advantage.

"Allowing boys to compete in girls' sports shatters their dreams and steals their opportunities," Irvin said at a news conference Thursday. "When schools and societies ignore those differences, it's girls that are paying the price."

President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Jan. 20 aimed at combating discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

"Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room or school sports," the order says.

Biden's order has sparked a backlash from conservative lawmakers across the country and bills like the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, have recently been introduced in Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.

The Arkansas Republican Women's Caucus launched the "Dream B.I.G. Campaign: Bold Initiatives for the Good of Arkansas," in 2019 to introduce legislation that addresses education, juvenile justice reform, economic development, childcare, and healthcare issues. The legislative package announced on Thursday included several bills related to those topics.