Utah governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, vetoed a bill that would ban transgender athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams, one day after Indiana GOP governor Eric Holcomb vetoed similar legislation.
The Utah bill would ban “student[s] of the male sex,” defined in the legislation as biologically male at birth, from playing on girls’ sports teams.
However, Cox raised issues with the legislation similar to those raised by Indiana governor Holcomb in his veto. Cox wrote in a letter to Utah Senate president Stuart Adams and House speaker Brad Wilson that just four students out of around 75,000 school athletes in Utah are transgender.
“Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships,” Cox wrote, adding that “all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection” can reduce chances that the children in question will experience suicidal ideation.
“If a veto override occurs, I hope we can work to find ways to show these four kids that we love them and they have a place in our state,” Cox wrote.
Similarly, in a letter explaining his own veto, Holcomb said “not a single case of a male seeking to participate on a female team has completed the process established by” the Indiana High School Athletics Association under its “now decade-old policy.”
Both governors also said the bills in the respective states could be subject to lawsuits.
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— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) March 22, 2022
Utah House speaker Brad Wilson said he anticipates that state lawmakers will be able to override the governor’s veto.
“Governor Cox made his intention to veto the bill clear from the day it was passed so his action today was expected,” Wilson said in a statement on Tuesday. “I anticipate that we will have sufficient votes to override the veto. Ultimately, the Legislature recognizes the value of girls athletics and our members want to ensure girls have the level playing field to compete that was created by Title IX.”
Eleven Republican governors have passed legislation banning transgender athletes from participation in women’s sports, including in Ohio, Iowa, and South Dakota.
Source: National Review
