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WV governor signs bill to protect women's sports

Wednesday, Apr 28, 2021

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb regarding West Virginia HB 3293, a bill Gov. Jim Justice signed into law Wednesday that protects opportunities for women and girls in athletics by ensuring they are not forced to compete against men playing on women’s sports teams. West Virginia joins Idaho, Mississippi, and Arkansas in protecting K-12 and collegiate sports for women and girls:

“When the law ignores biological differences, women and girls bear the brunt of the harm. We have seen increasing examples across the country of males dominating girls’ athletic competitions when competing as females, capturing championships and shattering long-standing female track records. Comparably fit and trained males will always have physical advantages over females—that’s the reason we have girls’ sports. When we ignore biological reality, female athletes lose medals, podium spots, public recognition, and opportunities to compete. In the face of ongoing pressure from woke corporations and special interests to reject this type of legislation, we commend Gov. Justice, Rep. Caleb Hanna, Sen. Amy Grady, Sen. Patricia Rucker, and many other supporters in the Legislature for ensuring that women and girls will not face those losses in West Virginia.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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ABOUT Christiana Kiefer

Christiana Kiefer serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is a key member of the Center for Conscience Initiatives. Since joining ADF in 2012, Kiefer has worked to protect women's and girls' sports and has defended the bodily privacy rights of students. She has also worked to protect the constitutionally protected freedom of churches, Christian schools, and Christian ministries to exercise their faith without government interference. Kiefer earned her J.D. in 2010 from Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy, where she graduated first in her class and served as a teaching assistant in criminal law. Also in 2010, Kiefer completed the ADF leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow. She is admitted to the state bar of California, the U.S. Supreme Court, and numerous federal district and appellate courts.