South Carolina Gov. McMaster Signs Anti-Transgender Student Sports Bill into Law

SC United for Justice & Equality coalition will explore every possible option to secure dignity and equality for transgender youth in South Carolina. 

This week South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed H.4608, an anti-transgender bill that restricts transgender students from participating in school sports in middle school, high school, and college. 

The passage of H.4608 comes after more than two years of LGBTQ+ and allied South Carolinians resisting similar efforts to ban transgender youth from sports participation. Between 2020 and 2021 advocates defeated 8 different versions of this bill, demonstrating consistent and powerful leadership from supporters of transgender dignity and equality. SC United for Justice & Equality is a coalition of more than 30 organizations committed to LGBTQ equality in SC that fought hard against the bill. 

Ivy Hill, a leader in the coalition who serves as Executive Director of Gender Benders and Community Health Program Director of Campaign for Southern Equality, said today:

“It pains us to see lawmakers in South Carolina, and now the governor, ignore the voices of thousands of South Carolinians – including parents, medical providers, students, faith leaders, and transgender people ourselves – who expressed loudly and clearly that this bill will harm young people in our state. Transgender youth are not a threat to fairness in sports, and this law now needlessly stigmatizes young people who are simply trying to navigate their adolescence, make friends, and build skills like teamwork and leadership, winning and losing.”

“While extreme lawmakers ultimately forced through this anti-transgender attack, the SC United for Justice & Equality coalition is so proud of the ways that thousands of supporters of transgender dignity spoke out and organized against H.4608 and other bills this year. We are grateful for every South Carolinian who expressed their love, support, and respect for transgender youth and rejected these politics of division and cruelty. Despite this setback, we will never stop fighting on behalf of trans and queer young people, and our coalition will explore every strategy possible to surmount every barrier to equality.”

Dr. Elizabeth Mack (she/her), a board certified pediatric critical care physician and pediatrician in Charleston, SC, has been one of many medical providers who has worked against the bill. When the bill passed in the Senate, she said:

“As a born and raised South Carolinian, it is my expectation that our state’s elected officials make decisions based on evidence and listen to our state’s experts. We must not play into fear or treat some of our most vulnerable community members – our transgender young people – like political pawns. Transgender youth face higher rates of bullying, mental health issues, and even suicide than their non-transgender peers, which we sadly see routinely in pediatric ICUs. This bill tells a population that is already at risk, ‘We do not support you,’ and I am devastated to see it pass. We must protect our future – our young people.”

A 2019 report from the Campaign for Southern Equality found that more than half of LGBTQ+ people in SC reported experiencing depression (71%) and anxiety (63%) – and rates were even higher for trans individuals and those who are BIPOC.

Advocates from the SC United for Justice & Equality coalition are available to speak with media about the legislation and its damaging impact on transgender youth.