Kentucky governor vetoes transgender girls sports ban

Source: Associated Press

Kentucky governor vetoes transgender girls sports ban

By BRUCE SCHREINER
April 6, 2022

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Democratic governor on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would bar transgender girls and women from participating in school sports matching their gender identity from sixth grade through college.

In his veto message, Gov. Andy Beshear said the Republican-backed measure “most likely” violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection rights because it “discriminates against transgender children seeking to participate in girls’ or women’s sports.”

The state’s GOP-dominated legislature will have a chance to override the veto when lawmakers reconvene April 13 for the last two days of this year’s session. The transgender bill sparked emotional debate at times but cleared both chambers with support from large majorities.

Republican-led states increasingly have adopted such prohibitions on transgender girls or women, though the culture war-related bans have been challenged in several states as violations of federal law. Beshear noted that similar measures drew vetoes from Republican governors.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sports-kentucky-education-college-sports-constitutions-1209dc0d2938db8b049b39d065da84bc