Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Thursday signed a law that will ban transgender girls and women from participating in K-12 and high school sports that align with their gender identity.
Hutchinson’s approval comes despite criticisms of child welfare and medical groups that have argued that the law would negatively affect trans youth. This also makes Arkansas the second state to approve a ban on transgender sports this year, according to The Associated Press.
“This law simply says that female athletes should not compete in a sport against a male student when the sport is designed for female competitions,” wrote Hutchinson in a press release. “As I stated earlier, I agree with the intent of this law. This will help to promote and maintain fairness at women’s sporting events. “
Nearly 20 state legislatures pushed for similar bans led by Republicans this year, the AP noted. Earlier this month, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed a bill banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports in public schools.
The law faced resistance from several LGBT rights groups. The Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBT advocacy groups in the country, noted that the ban will not only affect transgender athletes, but the entire Arkansas community.
“Hutchinson is ignoring the horrible history of states that have dared to pass anti-transgender legislation in recent years and, in doing so, is exposing Arkansas to economic damage, expensive taxpayer-funded legal battles and a tarnished reputation,” Alphonso David, the president group, he said in a statement, according to the AP.
Earlier this week, Hutchinson acknowledged that he did not want the law to target transgender people and the LGBT community as targets, according to the media. He also stated that he hoped to enact a hate crime law to show his support for the community.
“I want the message to be that we want to make sure that everyone is protected, that everyone is treated equally under the law,” Hutchinson told the AP. “This is very, very important, whether it be transgender or some other trait.”