Indiana Overrides Veto; One-Third of States #SaveGirlsSports

May 24
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Indiana became the seventeenth state to protect girls’ sports today. The Indiana House and Senate voted 67-28 and 32-15 respectively to override Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of HB 1041—the commonsense bill to reserve girls’ sports for females. Now one-third of all states have laws on the books to ensure fairness in female athletics.

As our friends at Indiana Family Institute can tell you, this legislation took on more than one surprising twist on its way to becoming law. The removal of collegiate athletes from the bill was supposed to guarantee its success, but after the House and the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass it, Gov. Holcomb astonished many by vetoing the bill while claiming efforts to preserve women’s sports was “a worthy cause for sure.”

At a time when biological men are increasingly taking the place of women in female competitions, on female podiums, and for female scholarships, it’s bewildering that a Republican governor from a conservative Midwest state would veto legislation that is widely supported and passed by two-thirds margin in both Indiana chambers. While governors in three other states have done the same this year, two legislatures (Utah and Kentucky) overrode those vetoes just as the Indiana General Assembly did today.

Led by bill sponsors Rep. Michelle Davis and Sen. Stacey Donato, Indiana legislators acted courageously to defend truth and fairness through the passage and veto override of Save Girls’ Sports legislation. We applaud them as we look forward to additional states doing likewise, and one day, preserving girls’ sports in every state.

Thankfully,

Amanda Banks