Governor Vetoes Anti-Trans Athlete Bill, Citing 'No Unfairness'
letter addressed to Republican Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, Holcomb argued that a "thorough review" had revealed a lack of evidence that girls' sports had a fairness problem that the government needed to address.
Although Holcomb said he may support the "overall goal" regardless, his comments suggested that there was little reason to believe transgender student athletes had made K-12 sports in the state unfair."The presumption of the policy laid out in HEA 1041 is that there is an existing problem in K-12 sports in Indiana that requires further state government intervention," the governor wrote. "It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met.
After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the effort overall."Holcomb expressed concerns that the bill could face legal challenges.
He also pointed out that no transgender girls had completed a process required by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), which allows transgender students to participate in sports if they follow guidelines that include living in the gender they identify as for at least a year."I am heartened by the IHSAA which has done an admirable job to help maintain fairness and consistency in all sports," wrote Holcomb. "Nowhere in the testimony of this legislation was a critique leveled against their model on how to govern this and other complex matters.""Furthermore, not a single case of a male seeking to participate on a female team has completed the process established by IHSAA's now decade-old policy," he added.The bill passed in the state Senate earlier this month.
