Last Updated on May 25, 2022
The Republican-controlled Indiana state legislature voted to override Republican Governor Eric Holcomb’s veto on a bill that will ban men from competing in women’s sports. Indiana joins about a dozen other states who have enacted similar measures, including Florida, Utah and Oklahoma.
State senators voted 32-15 in favor of overriding Holcomb’s veto while the House voted in the affirmative by a final tally of 67-28, according to a report from the Associated Press. “Holcomb had said in his veto message that bill did not provide a consistent policy for what he called “fairness in K-12 sports” when he unexpectedly vetoed it in March,” the AP reported.
The bill was passed by a wide margin in both chambers of the Indiana legislature, prompting Republican members to immediately schedule a vote to override the veto.
Governor Holcomb initially signaled support for the bill but said in his veto letter that the legislation “falls short” of providing a consistent statewide policy for what he called “fairness in K-12 sports.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the ban as soon as the legislature overrode the veto. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a 10-year-old boy who wants to play on an all-girls softball team, according to Breitbart News.
Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray says he sees the bill as a way of preserving “simple fairness.”
“We don’t like to get to the state of Indiana sued, but it happens from time to time,” Bray said. “It’s a policy that I think we can stand behind.”
The Indiana legislature’s override comes a little over under two months after the Utah legislature defeated a veto from their own Republican governor. Utah Governor Spencer Cox — who has “he/him” pronouns in his Twitter bio — took a similar stance to his Indiana counterpart.
His veto was also overruled by a wide margin.
