• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Lost Prairie Press

Lost Prairie Press

Trending News from the Midwest - IA, IL, KS, MO, NE

  • Home
  • MIDWEST
  • ILLINOIS
  • IOWA
  • KANSAS
  • MISSOURI
  • NEBRASKA
  • About Us
    • Contact Us

Kansas Governor Vetoes Ban on Transgender Athletes in Female Sports and Braces for Override Fight

TOPEKA, Kansas — Arguing a ban on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports invites bullying, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a bill that mirrored Republican efforts across the country that would have states policing high school and college sports.

“We should be focused on how to include all students in extracurricular activities rather than how to exclude those who may be different than us,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “Kansas is an inclusive state and our laws should reflect our values. This (bill) does not do that.”

And the Democratic governor repeated her argument that Kansas could lose business by putting the ban into law. The NCAA and other sports organizations have increasingly moved to avoid states seen as hostile to gay and transgender people.

A few weeks earlier, she called the bill a “job killer.”

Her veto sets the stage for a clash with the governor and Republicans who dominate the Legislature over an emerging issue that’s become prominent in culture wars across the country.

Republicans argue that people assigned as male at birth would bring unfair physical advantages if they played in female athletics. They’ve labeled the bill the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.

Democrats say there’s no evidence that transgender athletes would damage female sports. Instead, they say the bill makes transgender athletes targets for more harassment and discrimination.

The bill passed with a strong margin in both the Kansas House and Senate, although not with the votes it would need to override Kelly’s rejection. Yet it enjoys the support of the conservatives who control leadership across the Legislature and has a reasonable chance to pick up the two-thirds it needs in each chamber to nullify the governor’s veto and become law.

The proposed law, Senate President Ty Masterson and Sen. Renee Erickson said in a statement on Thursday, “ensures fairness.”

“It’s not about anything other than that, and no state should allow itself to be intimidated by big corporations or the NCAA,” their statement said.

In a signal that the override fight was brewing, the two said: “We will continue to fight for fairness in women’s sports until this bill becomes law.

During a visit to Wichita last week, Kelly said adopting the bill into law invites a costly blowback from businesses.

“Companies are making it very clear,” she said at the time, “that they are not interested in this kind of regressive legislation that discriminates against anybody.”

The bill would ban transgender girls and women — those who were assigned at birth as boys but come to identify themselves as female — from female sports teams in public schools and universities.

Last week, the NCAA’s board of governors issued a statement supporting transgender athletes and said the organization only selects locations for major events that are “safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”

“We will continue to closely monitor these situations to determine whether NCAA championships can be conducted in ways that are welcoming and respectful of all participants,” the group said. The organization has made efforts in recent years to be more inclusive of transgender college students.

More than half the legislatures in the country have passed similar bans.

Wichita is already scheduled to hold NCAA basketball championship events in 2022 and 2025. Critics of the bill say Kansas could lose those events to other states if the ban took effect.

-30-

Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter and news editor for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Koranda.  The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of Kansas Public Radio, KCUR, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org. 

View Source

Filed Under: KANSAS

Primary Sidebar

More to See

42-essential-sweets-in-kc,-from-bonbons-to-apple-fritters

42 essential sweets in KC, from bonbons to apple fritters

February is short but sweet. This month, we share our picks for the city’s best bonbons and a lot of other unique sweets that are baked, dipped and drizzled to perfection. By Dawnya Bartsch, Martin … [Read More...] about 42 essential sweets in KC, from bonbons to apple fritters

our-five-favorite-bonbons-in-kc

Our five favorite bonbons in KC

Photo by Caleb Condit and Rebecca Norden It’s Valentine’s Day month, but fancy chocolate deserves to be enjoyed year-round. We visited chocolatiers around the … [Read More...] about Our five favorite bonbons in KC

oppd-launches-transparency-website

OPPD launches transparency website

Posted on December 1, 2022 Overland Park now has more access to information about its Police Department than ever, thanks to a library of online transparency-focused … [Read More...] about OPPD launches transparency website

city-council-approves-2023-strategic-goals

City Council approves 2023 strategic goals

Posted on December 20, 2022 The Overland Park City Council has formally approved a set of strategic goals for the upcoming year. City Manager Lori Curtis Luther proposed the … [Read More...] about City Council approves 2023 strategic goals

town-company-and-drastic-measures-headline-kc’s-7-beard-award-nominations

Town Company and Drastic Measures headline KC’s 7 Beard Award nominations

The annual Beard Awards semifinalists nominations were just released and Kansas City’s food and drink scene has something to celebrate. The KC area has seven semifinalists by our count, including two … [Read More...] about Town Company and Drastic Measures headline KC’s 7 Beard Award nominations

Footer

WELCOME!

Thanks for visiting Lost Prairie Press!

We hope you’ll enjoy news and perspective from the Midwest – specifically, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri.

About/Contact

Privacy Policy

Recent

  • 42 essential sweets in KC, from bonbons to apple fritters
  • Our five favorite bonbons in KC
  • OPPD launches transparency website

Search

Copyright © 2023 · Lost Prairie Press