After Hours of Testimony in Support of Transgender Students, South Carolina Lawmakers Advance Discriminatory Bill to Full Committee

Powerful testimony against H3477 was shared by educators, business owners, medical providers, advocates, parents, trans youth, the SC Superintendent of Education, and more. The bill heads to the full House Judiciary Committee. 

Today, March 3, the South Carolina Special Laws subcommittee continued its hearing on H3477, a bill that would prohibit transgender youth in middle and high school from participating in student athletics. After hours of testimony, primarily from opponents of the bill, the subcommittee voted 3-1 to advance H3477 to the full committee with a favorable ruling.

Powerful testimony was heard from supporters of transgender equality from all walks of life – including parents, medical providers, advocates, and transgender students directly impacted. Dozens of opponents of H3477 also submitted written testimony. 

South Carolina Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, a Republican, spoke at the end of the hearing. She said: 

“My responsibility as State Superintendent is to make sure that every child – every child – feels protected when they are in school and when they are on the athletic field. And I believe that this bill does damage to that. The High School League has handled this situation. It’s a very sensitive, personal situation that needs to be handled individually. And this is not something that we need to legislate from Columbia. I ask you to please not pass this legislation. 

SC United for Justice & Equality, a coalition of more than 30 organizations committed to LGBTQ equality in SC, is working against the bill. 

A leader in SC United for Justice and Equality, Ivy Hill (they/them pronouns), testified at the hearing. Hill is also Executive Director of Gender Benders and Community Health Program Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. They said after the hearing:

“As a lifelong South Carolinian and a trans person, I’m furious that the subcommittee advanced this bill, even after hours of hearing from so many concerned residents about its myriad dangers. The conversation around H3477 has sent a poisonous message to trans youth and all LGBTQ residents in South Carolina – but I’m grateful to the rich chorus of voices who testified today and told trans youth that they are loved, cared for, and supported. The legislature must listen: H3477 is wrong for South Carolina, and it is their duty to reject it.”

Kimmah Dozier-Burt (she/her pronouns), President of the Board for the Harriet Hancock Center in Columbia, SC, added:

“The passage of H3477 would be a disaster for South Carolina. The bill would traumatize transgender young people and introduce an invasive violation to any student who wants to participate in a school sport. It would require medical providers and school staffers to commit legal and ethical transgressions as they grapple with how to enforce this unenforceable policy. And it would be terrible for our state’s economy by marking us as an unwelcoming place that discriminates against already-vulnerable transgender young people. Any one of those reasons is enough to reject H3477; together, this should be a no-brainer for South Carolina lawmakers: Vote no.”

Ryan Wilson (he/him pronouns) is Associate Regional Campaign Director for the Human Rights Campaign and a proud graduate of both Clemson University and University of South Carolina. He said today:

“We are still facing a global pandemic and the legislature should be focused on real priorities that all South Carolinians are facing, not manufacturing a problem where none exists. Even the sponsor of HB3477 has admitted that this hasn’t been an issue in South Carolina. Transgender kids have played sports consistent with their gender identity for a long time - at the high school level, 20 states already allow transgender kids to play sports consistent with their gender identity, and at the college level the NCAA has its own policy, too. This is simply not an actual problem and advancing HB3477 sends the wrong signal about South Carolina.”

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.

Learn more at www.SouthCarolinaUnited.org/Trans-Athletes