Indiana enacts trans-female school sports ban
Lawmakers override governor’s veto of bill
INDIANAPOLIS — Republican lawmakers in Indiana voted Tuesday to override the GOP governor’s veto of a bill banning transgender females from competing in girls school sports and join more than a dozen other states adopting similar laws in the past two years.
State senators voted 32-15 in favor of overriding Gov. Eric Holcomb following the same action in a 67-28 vote by the House earlier in the day. Holcomb had said in his veto message that bill did not provide a consistent policy for what he called “fairness in K-12 sports” when he unexpectedly vetoed it in March.
The override votes were nearly party line and no lawmakers changed their votes from earlier this year. Four Republican senators joined all Democratic senators in voting to uphold the veto. In the
House, three Republicans voted to sustain the veto, while one Democrat supported overriding it.
Opponents have argued the bill is a bigoted response to a problem that doesn’t exist. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit minutes following the override in hopes of blocking the law from taking effect as scheduled on July 1.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 10-year-old girl who plays on her school’s all-girls softball team in Indianapolis. The new law would deny the fourth grader the right to rejoin her team because she is a transgender girl, which is a violation of Title IX and the U.S. Constitution, according to the complaint.
Holcomb said in a statement following the override that his “position hasn’t changed.”
“There remains zero cases and the process, which is managed by the (Indiana High School Athletic Association), is working. I stand behind my decision to veto HB 1041,” he said.
Republican sponsors of the bill maintain it is needed to protect the integrity of female sports and opportunities for girls to gain college athletic scholarships but have pointed out no instances in the state of girls being outperformed by transgender athletes.
“(This measure) does not solve an issue. It does not bring people together. It does not benefit our state in any way,” Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford of Indianapolis said shortly before the Senate vote. “Why do you press upon the government to solve this issue, when there is no issue?”
Republican Senate President
Pro Tem Rodric Bray said the state needs the policy and called it “a matter of simple fairness.”
“We don’t like to get the state of Indiana sued, but it happens from time to time,” Bray said. “It’s a policy that I think we can stand behind.”