Dozens of laws are being introduced in state legislatures nationwide to protect women’s spaces and advocate fair play for women and girls in sports . Last year, at least 17 bills to ensure fair play became law. While the media portray these pieces of legislation as discriminatory, that’s not what most people think about them.

Fifteen years ago, there were no laws about transgender athletes because there were very few transgender people, let alone athletes. But from lung capacity and bone structure to muscle density and thinking patterns, boys and girls, men and women, are inherently different. Society used not only to understand these differences but appreciate how they might work to further society. It’s because of these differences that most men are drawn to more physical labor while more women tend to be drawn to more nurturing occupations — generally speaking, of course.

Unfortunately, any piece of legislation drafted to ensure that women only compete against other women, for fairness’s sake, is now regularly criticized as being discriminatory. On one of their web pages, the American Civil Liberties Union announces , "Over 120 Bills Restricting LGBTQ Rights Introduced Nationwide in 2023 So Far." To read these and similar media headlines is to believe that a girl or woman is discriminatory for not wanting to play sports against biological males who have significant, obvious physiological advantages over them.

In a recent Minnesota case, for example, a state judge ruled that an organization called USA Powerlifting was discriminating against transgender athletes if they didn’t allow biological males identifying as women to compete against biological women. In the eyes of the law, gender identity is the same as race or sex, and so under that definition, anything but equal treatment is discrimination. Even Title IX can’t save women post-college.

Still, equal treatment does not mean all things are equal. Men and women should be treated equally in value. At the same time, we must understand that when it comes to certain things — sports and the military come to mind — there are innate differences between the sexes. Even the public knows this. A recent Wall Street Journal survey said 56% of people think transgender athletes should only play on teams that match their biological sex.

That leaves the responsibility for action to state legislators. Since public opinion continues to suggest people want fairness for women in sports, state laws should continue to reflect as much.

Nicole Russell is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota. She is an opinion columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.