White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz condemned on Monday a new women's sports law for all accredited schools in South Dakota enacted by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, Axios reported.
''The unfortunate reality is that Republican legislators in South Dakota and across the country are leveling legislative attacks that target transgender kids and their families in order to score political points,'' Munoz said.
''These anti-transgender bills are nothing more than bullying disguised as legislation and undermine our nation's core values,'' he added.
The assistant press secretary then cited a study from The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ group, saying that laws such as the one passed in South Dakota ''damage the mental wellbeing of young people.''
Munoz then shifted to the Biden administration's focus on passing the Equality Act.
''President Biden continues to call on the Senate to swiftly pass the Equality Act to protect Americans from discrimination — and the White House will continue calling on state lawmakers to advance equality, rather than discrimination, this legislative cycle,'' Munoz said.
Noem signed Senate Bill 46 on Thursday, which requires school sports to organize according to the biological sex of athletes at birth, unless explicitly coed. The law passed the state Senate on Tuesday and House on Jan. 19.
''This bill has been an important priority for a lot of the people behind me,'' Noem said at the bill signing, according to NBC News. ''And I appreciate all of their hard work in making sure that girls will always have the opportunity to play in girls' sports in South Dakota and have an opportunity for a level playing field, for fairness, that gives them the chance to experience success.''
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