Wyoming Legislature To Consider Transgender Access Restrictions
A Republican lawmaker from Big Horn and Washakie counties says she plans to introduce a pair of bills in the upcoming legislative session to restrict transgender access to women's facilities and women's sports.
In a recent op-ed, Rep. Martha Lawley announced plans to introduce an amendment to the Student Eligibility In Sports Act as well as the Protecting Women's Privacy in Public Spaces Act..
In her op-ed, Rep. Lawley describes her amendment to the Student Eligibility In Sports Act this way: The amendment I am proposing to the Student Eligibility in Sports Act would extend these protections to collegiate sports, covering the University of Wyoming and our community colleges. It ensures that eligibility standards are based on biological sex, protecting fairness from grade school through college. This isn’t about shutting anyone out—it’s about giving every young woman the chance to compete on a level playing field. The amendment provides legal remedies to hold institutions accountable if those rights are violated.
Among other things, that bill would ban Wyoming collegiate sports teams from competing against out of state teams with one or more transgender players.
The Student Eligibility in Sports Act already bans boys from competing in girls sports in grades 7-12. Lawley was a co-sponsor of the original bill, which was passed by the legislature in 2023..
The other bill on transgender access Lawley says she plans to introduce is the Protecting Women's Privacy in Public Spaces Act. That legislation would ban transgender access to female restrooms, locker rooms and correctional facilities.
In her op-ed, Lawley writes is just as important. This bill ensures that women and girls can feel safe and respected in places where privacy is essential—bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and correctional facilities.
As of Thursday morning, neither bill had been formally listed as having been filed on the legislature's website.
The Wyoming Legislature will convene a two-month General Session on January 14 in Cheyenne. In a General Session, bills on any topic can be introduced with a simple majority vote. General Sessions alternate with Budget Sessions under Wyoming law. During a budget session, non-budget items need a two-thirds majority to be introduced.
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