Kansas Governor Becomes Fourth in 2022 to Veto Anti-Trans Sports Ban

It’s unfortunately hard to keep up with the amount of anti-trans legislation moving through the states right now, but leaders like Kansas Governor Laura Kelly are using their platforms to combat the needless hate. Namely, Kelly became the fourth governor in 2022 to veto a transgender sports ban last Friday.

The Kansas legislature passed SB 160, which would ban transgender girls from participating in school sports as their gender, though the bill doesn’t restrict trans boys. The bill also didn’t specify how teachers and school leaders would determine the sex of the student, leaving the method they decipher if a student is cis or trans up to school districts. The bill also says, should the school districts fail, they can be sued by student or other districts.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Kansans and trans youth in the state will need to face these conversations, at least not immediately, as Kelly vetoed the anti-trans bill on Friday.

“Both Republican and Democratic Governors have joined me in vetoing similar divisive bills for the same reasons: it’s harmful to students and their families and it’s bad for business,” Kelly writes in a statement.

“We all want a fair and safe space for our kids to play and compete. However, this bill didn’t come from the experts at our schools, our athletes or the Kansas State High School Activities Association. It came from politicians trying to score political points.”

This isn’t Kelly’s first rodeo: The governor vetoed a similar transgender sports ban nearly a year ago, saying that the bill “might exacerbate some of the mental health issues that we’re already seeing,” in reference to LGBTQ youth’s already challenging mental health barriers in relation to their cis and straight classmates.

Kelly is in small but mighty company, as Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear have all vetoed similar transgender sports bans this year. While the Utah and Kentucky legislatures overrode Cox and Beshear’s respective vetoes, Holcomb and Kelly’s vetoes remain intact.