The Republican-led Kansas State Senate was unable to override Democrat Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill that would limit transgender athletes to sports that correspond only to their birth gender.
The bill would have banned athletes born as males from playing in girls’ sports in state-run schools. Kelly vetoed the bill in April.
“As Kansans, we should be focused on how to include all students in extracurricular activities rather than how to exclude those who may be different than us,” Kelly said in her veto message. “Kansas is an inclusive state and our laws should reflect our values.”
This week, though, the state Senate could not override the governor’s veto achieving only a vote of 26-14. The Senate needed a two-thirds majority to pass the bill into law, according to KWCH.
The Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate 29 to the Democrat’s 11.
Kansas is one of nearly half the states considering some form of restriction on transgender athletes. Republican governors in Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Tennessee have already signed their bills into law.
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