Wis. governor vetoes ban on transgender student athletes
BY BAYLOR SPEARS | Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican bill Tuesday that would have barred transgender girls from participating on girls’ sports teams.
The expected veto of AB 377 is Evers’ latest rejection of bills passed by Republicans that targeted LGBTQ people. Evers, who also recently vetoed a bill that would ban gender affirming medical care for minors, had repeatedly said that he wouldn’t sign bills that could negatively impact LGBTQ Wisconsinites.
Evers said in his veto message that the bill and “the harmful rhetoric” that produced it “harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our LGBTQ kids.” “I will veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids and I will continue to keep my promise of using every power available to me to defend them, protect their rights and keep them safe,” Evers said.
The bill would have required schools to create three categories of teams — “males,” “females,” and “males and females,” — based on students’ sex assigned at birth.
