S. Carolina nears transgender sports ban after Senate vote
By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would ban transgender students from playing girls’ or women’s sports in public schools and colleges. The 30-10 vote Wednesday likely clears the way for South Carolina to join a dozen others with similar laws that sprung up in the past two years. The House will review changes made by senators. If that chamber approves the new version, the bill heads to the governor’s desk. More than a dozen other conservative states in requiring transgender students to compete with the gender listed on their birth certificates. Idaho passed the first ban in 2020. Its law and a similar law in West Virginia have been blocked by courts.