OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:25 AM – Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has vetoed a proposal banning transgender athletes in high school sports.
On Tuesday, Evers (D-Wis.) rejected the proposal to ban transgender student-athletes from competing on sports teams that coincide with their gender identity.
Evers stated that the Republican-led legislation is “hateful and discriminatory” and part of a broader attack on transgender rights nationwide.
“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to codifying discrimination into state statute,” Evers wrote.
“I believe this bill fails to comport with our Wisconsin values. We expect our kids to treat each other with kindness, respect, empathy, and compassion, and we should be able to expect adults to lead by example,” Evers continued. “I urge the Republican majority to do so while fully considering the harmful consequences its efforts and actions have on our kids prior to introducing similar legislation in the future.”
The bill would have mandated that Wisconsin public and private schools determine a student-athlete’s eligibility for interscholastic, intramural, and club sports based on their assigned sex at birth rather than gender identity. Evers had previously pledged to veto the bill.
Democrats in the state legislature contended that the proposal is an attack on an already vulnerable population, while Republicans countered that it is necessary to preserve fair competition in women’s sports.
The bill was approved by the state assembly by a party-line vote of 63 to 35 in October.
Following a similar party-line split, the state Senate voted 21-11 to send the measure to Evers last month. The two-thirds majority required to override a veto is absent from both chambers.
The bill ignores a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association policy that has controlled transgender high school athletes’ eligibility in the state since 2015, according to Evers’ veto letter. That policy requires transgender women and girls to receive hormone therapy for at least a full year prior to being allowed to participate in female sports teams, and it is based on NCAA guidelines.
He also wrote that the bill’s proposal also conflicted with federal law due to its discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“States across this country may give way to radical policies targeting LGBTQ individuals and families and threatening LGBTQ folks’ everyday lives and their ability to be safe, valued, supported, and welcome for being who they are,” Evers wrote in his veto message. “As long as I am governor of this great state, Wisconsin will not be among them.”
Under the Biden administration’s proposed revisions to historic civil rights legislation, states would not be able to ban transgender student-athletes.
According to reports, at least 24 other states have enacted laws that prohibit transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams that match their gender identity.
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