New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, signed legislation banning biological males from competing in girls’ sports for grades 5 to 12.

The Republican governor also signed a bill prohibiting medical professionals from performing transgender surgeries on minors.

Per ABC News:

The bill passed by the Republican-led Legislature would require schools to designate all teams as either girls, boys or coed, with eligibility determined based on students’ birth certificates “or other evidence.” Supporters of the legislation said they wanted to protect girls from being injured by larger and stronger transgender athletes.

Sununu signed the bill Friday, saying in a statement it “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” It takes effect in 30 days.

The bill banning transgender surgeries for minors takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

New Hampshire Bulletin reports:

The decisions – which LGBTQ+ advocates denounced Friday and called an attack on the transgender community – were cheered on by Sununu’s fellow Republicans, who have made gender in high school sports and gender-affirming surgeries a key political battleground.

Sununu also signed a bill that would allow parents to opt their children out of any public school instruction that features LGBTQ topics – and would require teachers to give parents at least two weeks notice before teaching such material.

But he vetoed a fourth bill, House Bill 396, that would have allowed businesses and government entities to discriminate on the basis of biological sex in bathrooms, locker rooms, sporting events, jails and prisons, mental health hospitals and treatment facilities. That bill would have directly rolled back some of the gender identity anti-discrimination protections Sununu signed into law in 2018.

“The challenge with HB 396 is that in some cases it seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire, and in doing so invites unnecessary discord,” Sununu wrote in a statement.

 

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