West Virginia governor plans to sign bill restricting transgender athletes

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) on Wednesday confirmed his intention to sign a new bill that would prevent transgender middle and high school athletes from participating in team sports that match their gender identity.

During a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, Justice commented on the bill approved by the Republican-dominated state legislature last week, saying that he would “let it become law or sign it,” and that he was “absolutely not” in support of vetoing the measure, one of several pieces of anti-transgender legislation advancing in GOP-led states.

“From the standpoint of how I feel about it personally… I just can’t possibly get through my head that it is the right thing for us at a middle school level or a high school level in our state for me not to support the bill,” Justice explained. “So, I do support the bill.”

The Hill