INDIANA LAWMAKERS OVERRIDE VETO, BAN TRANS GIRLS IN SPORTS
State joins at least 17 others pushing such restrictions
Republican lawmakers in Indiana on Tuesday banned transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams at their schools, overriding the veto of Gov. Eric Holcomb, a fellow Republican who said the measure did not address any pressing problem and exposed the state to lawsuits.
The override made Indiana the latest conservative state to enact legislation blocking transgender girls or women from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Though the details of the laws vary from place to place, at least 17 other states have introduced restrictions on transgender sports participation in recent years, according to data from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
Sports participation by transgender girls and women has become an increasingly divisive topic among political leaders and sports sanctioning groups, which have struggled to address the issue in a way that respects transgender athletes and concerns that some have raised about competitive fairness. This year, Lia Thomas, a member of the
University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swimming team, became the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title.
“Your vote will send a clear message that Indiana will protect the integrity of female sports,” state Rep. Michelle Davis, a Republican and former college athlete who sponsored the bill, said shortly before the House voted to override.
Holcomb, a Republican in his second term, vetoed the bill in March, diverging from many other Republican governors who enthusiastically signed similar measures. The bill, known as HEA 1041, was likely to be challenged in court if it became law, Holcomb said at the time. He also questioned whether it was solving any pressing issue.
Even after Holcomb’s veto, the Indiana bill retained support from many of the state’s most powerful Republicans. Attorney General Todd Rokita vowed to defend the state from any lawsuits that might result.
“Hoosiers won’t be bullied by woke groups threatening girls’ sports,” Rokita wrote this month in a piece published by The Hamilton County Reporter, a local newspaper.
Shortly after the override vote, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana announced that it had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a 10-year-old transgender girl who plays on her school’s girls’ softball team. The lawsuit seeks to block enforcement of the new law.