Idaho becomes first U.S. state to ban trans athletes

Idaho has become the first U.S. state to ban transgender girls and women from competing in female sports leagues, enacting new laws that also prevent trans people from changing their birth certificates.

Governor Brad Little signed the two bills into law on Monday, according to the Idaho government's website, drawing criticism from LGBT+ groups that called the move harmful and discriminatory.

Idaho's "Fairness in Women's Sports Act" bans trans girls and women from competing in girls' or women's sports leagues affiliated with the state's public school and higher education systems.

"Under this bill, boys and men will not be able to take the place of girls and women in sports because it is not fair," state lawmaker Barbara Ehardt, who introduced the bill, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation earlier this month.