RALEIGH, NC — Today, Independent Women applauds North Carolina Senators Vicki Sawyer (R-Iredell) and Brad Overcash (R-Gaston) for introducing North Carolina Senate Bill 516, inspired by Independent Women’s Stand With Women model legislation. By fortifying the definitions of ‘female’ and ‘male’ terms in law, Independent Women’s sex-definition model in North Carolina would preserve the legal existence of women as distinct from men and safeguard the existence of single-sex spaces—including, rape crisis centers, prisons, and domestic violence shelters.
If passed by the North Carolina General Assembly and signed into law, this Stand With Women legislation would:
- Define common sex-based terms, such as ‘woman,’ ‘man’, ‘female,’ and ‘male,’ for purposes of state administrative law; and
- Protect single-sex spaces
The introduction of SB 516 follows a national spotlight on this issue, including President Donald Trump’s recognition of North Carolina former high school athlete and Independent Women Ambassador Payton McNabb as a leading women’s sports advocate turning tragedy into triumph after she suffered a devastating injury caused by a trans-identifying male athlete on an opposing women’s volleyball team.
McNabb’s story continues to drive support for women’s sports, standing as a testament to the tragic consequences of denying women and girls the right to single-sex athletics. Independent Women Features, the grassroots storytelling and original journalism project of Independent Women, recently highlighted McNabb’s story in a documentary — “Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph”
Watch Payton’s Story here.
McNabb’s attendance at the Joint Address to Congress came after President Trump issued a day-one executive order to define ‘woman,’ also modeled after Independent Women’s sex definitions, and signed the Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order, which Independent Women supported with a presence of staff, chapter leaders, and other female athlete ambassadors.
Stand With Women champions in North Carolina have been long-time partners in the fight to protect women’s spaces. In 2023, Independent Women celebrated the North Carolina legislature’s successful override of Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act to ensure that female athletes in the state have safe and equal opportunities to compete.
McNabb was pivotal in the passage of the bill through the legislature and the veto override. McNabb first spoke out about her life-altering injury caused by a male athlete testifying in support of the 2023 legislation alongside Riley Gaines.
In 2024, Payton McNabb and Independent Women were joined by Coach Sylvia Hatchell, former UNC Chapel Hill women’s basketball head coach, on the Our Bodies, Our Sports “Take Back Title IX” Summer 2024 Bus Tour, which stopped in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to highlight the need for policymakers to protect women’s sports.
North Carolina’s Stand With Women legislation is the critical next step to defend women’s single-sex spaces.
Payton McNabb said, “I am grateful Senators Vicki Sawyer and Brad Overcash have introduced Senate Bill 516, which defines ‘male’ and ‘female’ terms throughout North Carolina laws and protects our private spaces. Not only have I been a victim of the Left’s crusade to push men into female sports and spaces but I suffered a traumatic brian injury as a result of these radical policies. I was proud to help override former Governor Coopers’s veto of the fairness in women’s sports bill back in 2023 and will work hard to ensure this bill makes it through the legislature and into law this year.”
Kansas, Tennessee, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana have all adopted laws inspired by Independent Women’s Stand With Women model, positively affecting the lives of over 23 million women and girls.
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