GOP Turn on Indiana Gov. Holcomb After He Stops Transgender Athlete Ban
Republicans have hit out at GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb's decision to veto a bill which would have banned transgender females from taking part in girls' school sports.Holcomb, going against other Republican governors who have signed similar laws in 11 other states, announced he would be intervening in the legislation on Monday.In a letter, Holcomb explained that the proposed law—House Bill 1041—would likely be challenged in courts and currently "falls short" in its aim to provide clarity on how it would provide fairness for K-12 sports in Indiana."It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met," Holcomb said. "After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal." There had been no recorded cases of transgender athletes trying to join girls' teams, he said.Tweeting in response, Indiana Republican Sen.
Mike Braun said: "Girls' sports should be for girls, and allowing biological males to compete with them robs female athletes of a chance to compete and win.""I'm disappointed Governor Holcomb vetoed a bill to make this law in Indiana, and I support a veto override to protect women's athletics," he said.Jim Banks, the GOP congressman representing Indiana's 3rd district, wrote on Twitter: "I'm disappointed with Gov.
Holcomb's veto of a common sense bill that frankly doesn't go far enough to Save Women's Sports."My hope is that the Indiana General Assembly will meet soon to override the veto and send a message to the rest of the nation that Indiana values women."In reply, Indiana state representative Martin Carbaugh tweeted: "Believe me...I will be there to override.
