Nebraska is the latest state to ban transgender students from girls' sports

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has signed into instrumentality a measurement banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed into instrumentality Wednesday a measurement banning transgender students from girls’ sports, making the authorities the latest to support transgender athletes from competing connected women’s and girls’ teams.

Pillen signed the instrumentality flanked by dozens of lawmakers, women athletes and different advocates — including erstwhile collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has made a sanction for herself arsenic a vocal advocator of banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.

The measurement passed by the Nebraska Legislature past week broke a filibuster by a azygous ballot formed on enactment lines. It was pared down from its archetypal form, which besides sought to barroom transgender students from utilizing bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their sex identity.

Sponsors agreed to driblet the bath and locker country prohibition erstwhile 1 Republican — Omaha Sen. Merv Riepe — declared helium would ballot against it otherwise.

The measurement was archetypal introduced successful 2023 by then-freshman Sen. Kathleen Kauth, but failed to beforehand arsenic lawmakers angrily argued implicit Kauth's different measure that sought to barroom gender-affirming attraction for transgender minors nether the property of 19. An amended mentation that banned gender-affirming surgery — but not each gender-affirming attraction — for minors aboriginal passed and was enacted that year.

On Wednesday, Kauth promised to revive her bath and locker country prohibition adjacent year, reiterating her rejection that radical tin find their ain gender.

“Men are men and women are women,” she said, and urged voters successful Riepe's territory to unit him to enactment it.

Republicans down the sports prohibition accidental it protects women and girls and their quality to reasonably vie successful sports. Opponents accidental with truthful fewer transgender students seeking to enactment successful sports, the measurement is simply a solution successful hunt of a problem.

Fewer than 10 transgender students person participated successful mediate schoolhouse and precocious schoolhouse sports successful the authorities implicit the past decade, according to the Nebraska School Activities Association.

At slightest 24 different states person adopted akin bans. President Donald Trump besides signed an executive order this twelvemonth intended to dictate which sports competitions transgender athletes tin participate and has battled successful tribunal with Maine implicit that state’s allowing transgender athletes successful girls’ and women’s sports.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska denounced the measure.

ACLU Nebraska Executive Director Mindy Rush Chipman said the prohibition “slams the doorway shut” for immoderate transgender students to afloat enactment successful their schoolhouse communities.

“This prohibition volition lone make problems, not lick any,” Rush Chipman said, adding that “the changeless targeting of LGBTQ+ Nebraskans indispensable stop.”

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