Utah Legislature Votes to Override Governor's Veto of Anti-Transgender Sports Bill
The Utah state legislature is overriding Governor Spencer Cox's veto of a bill that would ban transgender girls from competing in sports.
Per Kiara Alfonseca of ABC News, the Utah state House and Senate gathered the required two-thirds vote necessary to override Cox's veto of the bill.
According to Alfonseca, the ban will go into effect July 1.
The move comes after Cox issued a letter to state Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad R. Wilson that included data about his decision to veto the bill, via Zoe Richards of NBC News:
"Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few."
The four kids cited in the letter is a reference to data that shows only four of the approximately 75,000 kids playing high school sports in Utah are transgender, and only one is involved in girls' sports.
Cox also cited research that shows creating an environment of "acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly" among transgender youths.
According to Alfonseca, the original version of the bill allowed for transgender participation in girls' sports and "proposed that a commission decide if there is a threat to safety or fairness against cisgender girls in competitions."
On the final day of the legislative session, Alfonseca wrote, a substitute version of the bill was introduced that would implement "an all-out ban on transgender women's participation in sports, and the commission would only come into play if a court prohibited the ban."
Cox noted in his letter (h/t Alfonseca) that a complete ban of transgender girls from sports "was never discussed, never contemplated, never debated and never received any public input prior to the Legislature passing the bill on the 45th and final night of the session."
Per Brooke Spoelsa of NBC News, 11 different states have implemented bans that target transgender athletes, not including Utah.
According to Alfonseca, Cox issued a warning to legislators he will call a special session "to change the section of the bill in order to avoid bankrupting the athletic association and local schools if they override his veto."
In the wake of the Utah state legislature's decision, the Utah Jazz issued a statement about the situation:
Ryan Smith, governor of the Jazz, responded to Cox's letter on Wednesday on Twitter by supporting his decision to veto the bill:
The Jazz are scheduled to host the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend. There is no indication at this point that the NBA is looking to move the event.
Major League Baseball moved its 2021 All-Star festivities from Atlanta to Colorado amid uproar over a voting rights bill in Georgia that has been widely criticized for restricting voting access to people of color.
