Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear Has Vetoed an Anti-Trans Bill



Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey-based politics and technology writer.…
Republicans have slowly been flipping their war on COVID protocols to a war on the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to laws like Ron DeSantis’ Don’t Say Gay Bill, the GOP has become very focused on transgender athletes.

Legislatures have passed laws banning trans children from participating in sports in many states. One of these bills was recently vetoed by Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox. And now, Andy Beshear has vetoed another anti-trans bill in Kentucky.
Beshear noted in a statement concerning his decision that Kentucky Republicans have failed to show one instance where a trans child had an advantage in sports. “Transgender children deserve public officials’ efforts to demonstrate that they are valued members of our communities through compassion, kindness and empathy, even if not understanding.”
Republican state Senator Robby Mills explained that while this isn’t an actual issue, he’s trying to think ahead because it could be one day. He said during a debate, “It would be crushing for a young lady to train her whole career to have it end up competing against a biological male in the state tournament or state finals.”
KY Governor Beshear vetoes transgender sports ban! The state legislature could attempt to overturn the veto but this deserves a celebration. A wonderful act against a bigoted attempt to ostracize youth for simply being who they are. https://t.co/Gspo6p9sUV
— Rainbow Youth Project (@RainbowYouthUSA) April 7, 2022
Chris Hartman of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky LGBTQ+ advocacy group slammed the bill as, “a harmful piece of legislation that would deprive transgender girls and young women of the opportunity to grow and learn from being on a team, simply because of who they are,” and later added, “from the start, this bill has been more about fear than fairness.”
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Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey-based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com, and PoliticusUSA. An avid pet lover, he has been known to contribute to Pet Lifestyles Magazine. He enjoys sports, politics, technology, and spending time at the shore with his family.