Wilfredo Lee/AP
toggle caption Wilfredo Lee/AP
In this April 30, 2021, file photo, Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis speaks at the end of a legislative session at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Wilfredo Lee/AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida s Republican governor signed a bill Tuesday barring transgender females from playing on public school teams intended for student athletes born as girls, plunging the state into the national culture war over transgender rights. In Florida, girls are going to play girls sports and boys are going to play boys sports, Gov. Ron DeSantis said as he signed the bill into law at a private Christian academy in Jacksonville that would not be subject to the law. We re going to make sure that that s the reality.
Florida joins U S states banning transgender girls from female sports netscape.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from netscape.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Florida on Tuesday became the latest and largest U.S. state to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female sports at schools, part of a campaign in statehouses nationwide this year assailed as discriminatory by equal rights activists.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, enacted the law on the first day of Pride Month, which celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.
DeSantis signed the bill at an event at a Christian school in Jacksonville where he was flanked by several teenage women athletes. He said the law, which states participation rules for public high schools and universities, was needed to ensure fairness for women participating in sports across the state.