North Carolina appears set to become the latest state to ban boys from competing in girls’ sports .

A bill that would bar boys who identify as transgender girls from competing on girls' middle school, high school, and college sports teams passed through the Senate Education Committee last week and only needs to pass in one more committee before coming up for a final vote in the Senate.

The North Carolina House and Senate passed separate transgender sports ban bills earlier this year. Now the veto-proof Republican majorities in both chambers are coming together to pass something they think will have enough support to override Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) if he vetoes the bill.

It is a good move from the North Carolina legislature. While it was easy for states to call this problem a nonissue a few years ago, it is becoming harder to ignore. While Republican North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore dismissed proposals to ban boys from competing in girls’ sports as a solution in search of a problem in 2021, the problem now affects sports across the country.

With each passing year, more children identify as transgender, increasing the pool of transgender athletes. Right-wing media have meticulously reported on these topics, so we are seeing more confirmed instances of male dominance in girls’ sports, especially this school year.

For example, a male athlete named Chloe Barnes helped Brookline High win a Division 1 girls’ indoor track and field state championship in Massachusetts this past winter; the junior got the team points at the meet by coming in fourth place in the 55-meter dash.

In New Hampshire, another male transgender athlete excelled in outdoor track and field: Kearsarge Regional High's Maelle Jacques. The freshman finished second in the 1,600-meter runs and fifth in the high jump at the Division 3 state championship meet. With strong performances like those as a freshman, Jacques will likely become a state champion in the next few tears, perhaps multiple times.

And in California, at least two male transgender track runners qualified for the girls’ outdoor track state championship meet for the 1,600-meter event alone.

Plus, one problematic instance of boys competing in girls' sports happened in North Carolina earlier this school year. A girls’ volleyball player in Cherokee County, North Carolina, named Payton McNabb suffered a concussion after a boy spiked a ball that hit her in the face. So not only do male athletes have an unfair athletic advantage over girls, but they also cause bodily harm to the girls competing.

The time is right for North Carolina and other states to fix this issue. A recent Gallup poll found that 69% of the country thinks transgender athletes should compete based on their biology, not their so-called gender identity; that is a 7-point swing against transgender athletes in the past two years, according to the pollster.

The country understands a problem exists here and that politicians are in the right for wanting to do something about it.

Tom Joyce ( @TomJoyceSports ) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.