A Democrat lawmaker in Kansas raged at Republicans after they successfully overrode a veto of a bill that banned transgenders from participating in women’s sports.
State Democrat Rep. Susan Ruiz said her Republican colleagues were “full of shit” on the Kansas House floor after the voted 84-40 to overturn Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of HB2238, according to the Kansas Reflector. She was joined in her outrage by state Rep. Heather Meyer, who reportedly has a transgender child, and displayed a shirt that read: “Protect trans youth.”
Ruiz said she became agitated with her Republicans after she allegedly heard them laughing after they had passed the bill. She specifically singled out State Rep. Patrick Penn from Wichita.
“He came in gloating, and it’s wrong,” Ruiz told the outlet. “This is all about wins and losses for them. This is a win for them. They don’t care what kind of a win it is. They don’t care about the unintended consequences. They don’t care that trans kids have a target on their back.”
During the debate over the bill, Penn even went as far as to call it racist to not protect women’s sports from transgender radicalism, saying that black women athletes would lose because a “man decided to suit up with the females and go dominate the court.”
Tom Witt, left, executive director of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Kansas, with Reps. Brandon Woodard, center, D-Lenexa, and Susan Ruiz, right, D-Shawnee, Thursday. Feb. 6, 2020, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. They denounced a proposal to prevent transgender high school and middle school students from playing on sports teams aligned with their gender identities. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
“Vote yes, override this veto, end racism,” Penn said.
Republican Rep. Barbara Wasinger argued that not protecting women’s sports would be a regressive act that would set women back.
“Let’s not go back in time,” Wasinger said.
Following the vote, Gov. Laura Kelly said she felt heartbroken.
“It sort of breaks my heart,” Kelly told reporters. “It certainly is disappointing. I know that there’s some legislators for whom this was a very, very hard vote, and one that I think they will regret as they look back on their time in the Legislature.”
“This is sort of a moral values vote,” she added. “I think they voted against their own moral code and their own values. I think that’s going to be very tough for them long-term.”
States that have issued some form of protection for women’s sports include the following: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama, Missouri, Florida, South Carolina.
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