Iowa GOP Gov. Reynolds signs bill banning transgender athletes from women's sports

Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation Thursday that effectively prohibiting athletes born as males from competing in females sports at schools and universities in the state.

Reynolds made the move two days after delivering the GOP rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union address, moving further into national politic debates. 

Reynolds, who signed House File 2416, says it is "a fairness issue" due to the athletic advantages possessed by transgender.

In signing the bill, Reynolds becomes one of a growing handful of GOP governors across the country who have signed similar legislation in an effort to protect women's sports.

Last month, South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem signed similar legislation into law.

The Iowa bill was passed by the state Senate on Wednesday, signed by Reynolds on Thursday, and goes into effect immediately.

It will require that athletes competing in women's sports have female listed as the sex on their birth certificate. There is not, in the law, a similar requirement for trans-men and men's sports.

Democrats in Iowa are displeased with the bill, as they have been in all other states with similar legislation.

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Walls, said, Reynolds is "showing once again that she’s more interested in scoring political points than caring about the impact of legislation on some of the most marginalized kids in our society."