'Save Womens Sports Act' passes SC House despite desperate delay tactic by Democrats

Democrats made a last-ditch effort to block a vote in the South Carolina House of Representatives that would require athletes to compete according to their biological sex.

The “Save Women’s Sports Act” was debated on the statehouse floor for nearly 8 hours as Democrats prolonged the process by proposing more than 1,000 amendments to the bill.

The amendments were concluded to be largely symbolic in an attempt to stall for time and were delivered to the floor ahead of the debate in fourth large boxes. For sake of time, Republican lawmakers invoked a time limit that capped debate to three minutes per amendment.

Approximately 600 amendments were scrapped by Republican Speaker Jay Lucas for being too similar in stature. Requirements ranches to knit pick at considerations beyond the scope of the bill. One such amendment would require the same number of assistant coaches to be hired for women’s sports as are hired for men’s sports, as well as provide equal resources.

Other amendments were purely satirical, such as renaming the bill “Discrimination Capital of the United States Act.” Another proposal would list individual school names or stipulate school bands can only perform at women’s sporting events.

Regardless, the bill swept through the House in an 82-28 count and will proceed for deliberation in the State Senate which is held by a Republican majority. The vote was largely partisan, with all Republican representatives voting in favor of its passage. 9 Democrat lawmakers stepped across the aisle to cast an approving vote.

Bill Sponsor Representative Ashley Trantham stated her appreciation for the support the bill had to push it through the legislature, saying from the podium because of the lawmaker’s actions, South Carolina is “one step closer to saving women’s sports.”

House Bill 2408 applies to middle school, high school, and collegiate institutes that are publicly funded. The bill requires sports teams to be separated by gender or operate as coeducational. Athletes would be required to compete according to the gender specified on their birth certificate. 

”The intent of the General Assembly is to maintain opportunities for female athletes to demonstrate their strength, skills, and athletic abilities and to provide them with opportunities to obtain recognition and accolades, college scholarships, and the numerous other long-term benefits that result from participating and competing in athletic endeavors,” the bill states.

Per the bill, the General Assembly expressed that it is in the state’s best interest to maintain “the fairness for women’s athletic opportunities,” and that fairness must be accomplished by designating gender-specific competition.

The bill further addresses exceptions to gender-based participation. Female athletes will maintain a right to compete in leagues reserved for “males, men, or boys,” however men will be barred from competing in leagues reserved for the opposite sex.

The motion is one that is being replicated in statehouses across the country. Campus Reform has been tracking efforts, largely led by Republican lawmakers, to implement legislation to protect integrity in women’s sports. 

Governor Kristi Noem championed the issue for the new year by becoming the first Governor to enact a bill to keep women’s sports leagues fair in February. An onslaught of states rushed to pass measures in their own books after the NCAA rocked the waves by allowing a biological man to compete in the 2022 Women’s Swimming Championships- taking home a national title.

While the bill glided through the Statehouse and is expecting smooth sailing to the Governor’s desk, its consideration comes as the Biden Administration begins to make extensive efforts to overthrow such legislation.

As recently reported by Campus Reform, the Department of Education is considering changes to Title IX to include protections for transgender students and athletes. Including gender identity in the same breath as biological sex would lawfully allow athletes to compete according to their self-assessed gender identity. If finalized and adopted, the new rules for Title IX would add leverage to legal challenges against similar bills introduced and passed throughout the States. 

The Administration has already hinted toward taking legal action against states who do not conform to its standard on gender ideology. 

The Arizona Attorney General received a letter from the Department of Justice notifying that bills passed in the state were subpar with the Administrations expectations. 

To Biden Administration:

See you in court (again).https://t.co/B4u4SLHrlt pic.twitter.com/iOHZsSLrwe

— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) March 31, 2022

One such bill sought to regulate women’s sports to include only biological women.

Campus Reform contacted Trantham for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.

Follow @AlexaSchwerha1 on Twitter.