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# Arkansas introduces bill against trans athletes
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/arkansas-introduces-bill-against-trans-athletes/
- Published: 2021-02-24T11:00:46.000Z
- Updated: 2021-02-23T17:54:23.000Z
- Description: Lawmakers in Arkansas, US have introduced a bill which would prevent young trans women from playing on girls sports teams at school, making it the latest state to propose such a law.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Sport, Arkansas, Center for American Progress, Human Rights Campaign, Joe Biden, LGBTQ, Trans athletes, Trans Rights, Trans Youth, Transgender, US

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/rainbow-laces-sports-1-1.jpg)

Lawmakers in **Arkansas, US** have introduced a bill which would prevent young trans women from playing on girls sports teams at school, making it the latest state to propose such a law. According to [*Associated Press*](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/arkansas-bill-ban-transgender-athletes-from-female-sports/ar-BB1dV4cS?ref=scenemag.co.uk), attorney general **Leslie Rutledge** is one of the main sponsors of the bill, saying it is *“common sense”*, and that Arkansas should not comply with a recent [executive order](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/biden-signs-order-in-support-of-trans-athletes/) from president **Joe Biden** which called for trans inclusion in school sports.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/support-trans-youth.jpg)

Rutledge said: *“This bill will ensure the integrity of girls and women in sports.”* Arkansas is one of [20 states](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/20-us-states-file-bills-targeting-trans-people/) which has proposed regulations against transgender athletes. Despite the increasing hostility towards young trans people, a recent study from the **Centre for American Progress** found trans inclusion in school sports poses no threat to cisgender youth. It also suggested anti-trans rhetoric relies on *“scare tactics, stereotypes, and unwarranted claims that transgender women have a physiological advantage over cisgender women.”*

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/trans-athletes-belong-ni-sports-1.jpg)

This is the second anti-LGBTQ+ bill to have been introduced in Arkansas this year. The [Medical Ethics and Diversity Act](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/arkansas-passes-bill-allowing-for-lgbtq-healthcare-discrimination/), otherwise known as Senate Bill 289, was voted in recently, and it rules that medical professionals are *“not required to participate in a healthcare service that violates their conscience”.* This means LGBTQ+ people could be refused healthcare without the practitioner facing any consequences. The **Human Rights Campaign’s** Arkansas state manager, **Eric Reece**, said the bill *“is a blatantly discriminatory attempt to strip LGBTQ+ people of basic rights.”*