USQ Stands Against Anti-Trans Legislation in Florida
In February, US Quidditch (USQ) spoke out against an anti-trans law in Utah, and now there is another piece of legislation in Florida that has gotten its attention. It is also the reason why USQ has canceled the South Regional Championship.
Senate Bill 1028 passed at the end of April and was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 1. The legislation is focused on education, especially on secondary and collegiate sports. The participation of athletes on teams is now based on their “biological sex at birth.” The law says that “students of the female sex” may compete in sports designated for males, but male athletes cannot participate in sport designated for females.
The Legislature finds that maintaining the fairness for women athletic opportunities is an important state interest. The Legislature finds that requiring the designation of separate sex-specific athletic teams or sports is necessary to maintain fairness for women’s athletic opportunities.
Equality and diversity have been important parts of Muggle quidditch since the beginning. That’s the reason why USQ has promised to do more to protect the safety of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC players. Part of its commitment has been to oppose discriminatory bills or policies that would disqualify a location from hosting a USQ event.
That currently means that USQ has had to cancel its South Regional Championship. The tournament should have been held at the Southside Sports Complex in Lake City, Florida, in 2022. Until the law is abolished, USQ will not organize any events in Florida.
The number of teams in the South region is large, and USQ wants to organize a sanctioned event for them in the next season as a chance to qualify for USQ Cup 2022.
Meanwhile, USQ is asking athletes or anyone else who lives in Florida to write to their state senators or to the governor’s office and tell them their opinion on these laws. USQ even shared a template letter and created a workshop about how to write to legislators.
