The Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, signed a bill Feb. 3rd that is stirring up controversy this week.  

The bill changed South Dakota’s laws segregating male and female sports teams by one’s sex assigned at birth. The bill causes an issue with trans athletes because the bill invalidates their gender identity. 

Noem has been saying this bill is about fairness and nothing else. Cathyrn Oakley, the state legislative director and leader of the human rights campaign, in an NBC interview described it as a “Terror bill” and  “Extremely disappointing.”  The bill affects high school and college athletes in South Dakota. 

South Dakota is not the first state to create a law like this one, there have been nine other states that have created a similar law. The new laws will come into effect July 1st, 2022.