This week, the Louisiana Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was delivered to Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards’ desk. Although the bill passed both chambers with bipartisan support (including a record-breaking 13 Democrats), it is still unclear if Governor Edwards will do the right thing and allow the bill to become law. 

We are calling on Governor Edwards to protect women’s sports and let the law go into effect. Democratic lawmakers in ten different states have stood up to the majority of the party by voting YES on policies that protect single-sex spaces. Governor Edwards has the opportunity to be on the right side of the Democratic party—and of history—by joining these brave Democrats from across the country and allowing Louisiana to save women’s sports. This legislation is essential to preserving the integrity of competitive sports, and the safety of women and girls. 

The advantages that boys and men have in terms of speed, and bone and muscle density, begin before puberty and don’t ever entirely go away after that. It made global headlines when a high school boys’ team beat the US women’s soccer team; everyone knows that the reverse headlines are a virtual impossibility.

Last year, the World Rugby governing body looked at the risks of bone and spinal injury to female athletes from competing with male athletes, and banned male athletes from international competition on the basis of safety alone.

Women across the country have been already been harmed by being forced to compete against men:

• In track and field, male high school runner CeCe Telfer won three titles in the Northeast-10 Championships for women’s track, and received the Most Outstanding Track Athlete award.

• In softball, male player Pat (Patrick) Cordova-Goff took one of 15 spots on his California high school women’s varsity softball team.

• In basketball, a 50-year-old, 6-foot-8-inch, 230-pound man, Robert (Gabrielle) Ludwig, led the Mission College women’s basketball team to a national championship with the most rebounds.

• In mixed martial arts, male fighter Fallon Fox shattered female fighter Tamikka Brents’ eye socket and gave her a concussion. Brents said she “never felt so overpowered in her life.

• In Connecticut’s state track and field championships, two male high school runners, Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, took first and second place in multiple events, beating out top high school girls from across the state. Yearwood was named Connecticut Athlete of the Year.

Defending the well-being and respecting the boundaries of our country’s women and girls are vital progressive values. Write to Governor Edwards’ office today and ask him to implement these values by allowing SB156 to become law.