Gov. DeSantis signs controversial transgender sports bill

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBS12) — On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Jacksonville to sign a controversial bill banning transgender female athletes from competing on high-school girls’ and college women’s sports teams.

DeSantis signed the bill at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville on the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month.

READ: Transgender athlete ban awaiting DeSantis' action

The measure (SB 1028) seeks to make female athletes’ eligibility for sports teams contingent on their “biological sex” on birth certificates issued “at or near the time of the student’s birth.”

The bill, dubbed the “Fairness In Women’s Sports Act,” mirrors legislation considered or passed this year by a number of other states with Republican-led legislatures.

The bill also includes provisions that would allow state colleges and universities to sponsor charter schools and permit parents of students in kindergarten through fifth grade to request that their child be retained in their current grade level.

Florida agricultural commissioner Nikki Fried released a statement on the bill's signing saying:

By signing a heartless ban on transgender kids in sports, Governor DeSantis is marginalizing an entire community. Signing it on the first day of Pride Month is especially cruel. Florida should stand for inclusivity, equality, and liberty – not peddling hate for political points.

Watch the full press conference below: