LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear issued a veto Wednesday of a bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in girls or women’s sports grades six through senior year of college.
Senate Bill 83, sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, sailed through Kentucky’s GOP-dominated state legislature with scant support from Democrats and the near-unanimous backing of Republicans.
The bill received pushback in committee hearings from several Kentuckians who pointed out that an instance of a person born male dominating women’s sports has yet to surface in the state, and that the law would unfairly punish transgender athletes hoping to play with teammates of the same gender.
The bill’s supporters said that being born male provides transgender girls with an unfair advantage in sporting contests and that the bill was about “protecting women.”
Other opponents of the bill, such as Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Lexington, who voted against it, said that the state is likely to get sued.
“Ninety-six percent chance we’re going to get sued when we pass this,” Timoney said. “I’m not sure I feel like spending money on lawsuits.”
Beshear agreed with Timoney in his veto message, pointing to Utah and Indiana where he said Republican governors have vetoed similar bills for that very reason. Beshear also pointed out that the Kentucky High School Athletic Association has a policy on the matter already, mandating that transgender athletes that have undergone sex reassignment after puberty make “surgical anatomical changes” and undergo hormone therapy.
Kentucky Fairness Campaign Executive Driector Chris Hartman said that the bill was “more about fear than fairness,” and that he knows of only one openly transgender girl playing school sports in Kentucky.
“I applaud Governor Beshear for doing the right thing today and vetoing a harmful piece of legislation that would deprive transgender girls and young women of the opportunity to grow and learn from being on a team, simply because of who they are,” said Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman. “From the start, this bill has been more about fear than fairness.”
The current version of Senate Bill 83 was passed in the House 70-23 and 26-9 in the Senate. A simple majority vote from both chambers is required to override a governor’s veto.
Beshear also vetoed a bill aimed at addressing another hot-button conservative social issue: critical race theory.
Senate Bill 1 began as a bill shifting certain responsibilities, namely principal hiring and some curriculum decisions, from school-based councils to central office. However, House lawmakers late in the session tucked the language of Senate Bill 138 into it.
Senate Bill 138, ostensibly aimed at addressing the debate over critical race theory in Kentucky schools, lists 24 primary source documents to be included in Kentucky school civics curriculum from elementary to high school. The bill sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, also says defining racial disparities solely on the legacy of slavery is “destructive to the unification of our nation,” a provision that some have said would ‘chill’ speech in the classroom.
Beshear cited many of Senate Bill 1’s provisions in his veto message. For one, he didn’t like how parent and teacher say over things like principal hiring was limited.
“Many in the General Assembly have voiced their support of the vital role of parents in their children’s education. This bill lessens that role and marginalizes parents,” Beshear wrote.
The governor also objected to a part of the bill that limits how many times Jefferson County Public Schools board can meet.
Beshear spilled the most ink, however, on the provisions included from Senate Bill 138.
He called the list of primary sources, which includes a political speech by former President Ronald Reagan, “aimed more than politics than at history.” Beshear also said that it attempts to “dictate” how history is taught in Kentucky schools and that the “policing” of how race is talked about will ultimately lessen such discussions.
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