Nebraska recently passed a law making it illegal for men to participate in women’s sports. The law also recognizes only two distinct and separate identities—male and female, as categorized by their reproductive systems.
The “Stand With Women” Act states, “Males and females possess unique and immutable differences” that are “enduring.” It passed in the Nebraska Legislature by a 33-16 vote.
The bill’s passage follows an executive order from President Donald Trump earlier this year titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” and his administration’s push for defining sex in federal law as strictly “male” or “female.”
“This legislation achieves a key goal—protecting girls and women’s sports. It’s just common sense that girls shouldn’t have to compete against biological boys,” said Gov. Jim Pillen. Pillen signed the bill into law on June 4, according to his office.
The text of the law states: “On average, male athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and more physically powerful than their female counterparts. This results in a significant sports performance gap between the sexes. Because of the physical differences between males and females, having separate athletic teams based on the sex of the athlete reduces the chance of injury to female athletes, promotes equality between the sexes, provides opportunities for female athletes to compete against their female peers rather than against male athletes, and allows female athletes to compete on a fair playing field for scholarships and other athletic accomplishments.”
According to Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit organization that advocates for religious liberty and the sanctity of life, “The law directs all interscholastic sports teams in the state from K-12 public schools, private schools, and colleges and universities ‘whose students or teams compete against a public school in an interscholastic sport, or a private school that is a member of an athletic association’ to be ‘expressly designated’ based on biological sex.”
In 2020, Idaho became the first state to establish a law to prohibit men from playing in women’s sports, according to Concerned Women for America, a public policy advocacy organization that focuses on cultural issues. With the addition of Nebraska, there are now 27 states that have a law protecting women’s and girls sports, according to Liberty Counsel.