06/04/25 03:37:00
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06/04 15:35 CDT Nebraska is the latest state to ban transgender students from
girls' sports
Nebraska is the latest state to ban transgender students from girls' sports
By MARGERY A. BECK
Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) --- Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed into law Wednesday a
measure banning transgender students from girls' sports, making the state the
latest to keep transgender athletes from competing on women's and girls' teams.
Pillen signed the law flanked by dozens of lawmakers, women athletes and other
advocates --- including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has made a
name for herself as a vocal advocate of banning transgender athletes from
women's sports.
The measure passed by the Nebraska Legislature last week broke a filibuster by
a single vote cast along party lines. It was pared down from its initial form,
which also sought to bar transgender students from using bathrooms and locker
rooms corresponding with their gender identity.
Sponsors agreed to drop the bathroom and locker room ban when one Republican
--- Omaha Sen. Merv Riepe --- declared he would vote against it otherwise.
The measure was first introduced in 2023 by then-freshman Sen. Kathleen Kauth,
but failed to advance as lawmakers angrily argued over Kauth's other bill that
sought to bar gender-affirming care for transgender minors under the age of 19.
An amended version that banned gender-affirming surgery --- but not all
gender-affirming care --- for minors later passed and was enacted that year.
On Wednesday, Kauth promised to revive her bathroom and locker room ban next
year, reiterating her rejection that people can determine their own gender.
"Men are men and women are women," she said, and urged voters in Riepe's
district to pressure him to support it.
Republicans behind the sports ban say it protects women and girls and their
ability to fairly compete in sports. Opponents say with so few transgender
students seeking to participate in sports, the measure is a solution in search
of a problem.
Fewer than 10 transgender students have applied to participate in middle school
and high school sports in the state since 2018, the Nebraska School Activities
Association said Wednesday.
At least 24 other states have adopted similar bans. President Donald Trump also
signed an executive order this year intended to dictate which sports
competitions transgender athletes can enter and has battled in court with Maine
over that state's allowing transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska denounced the measure.
ACLU Nebraska Executive Director Mindy Rush Chipman said the ban "slams the
door shut" for some transgender students to fully participate in their school
communities.
"This ban will only create problems, not solve any," Rush Chipman said, adding
that "the constant targeting of LGBTQ+ Nebraskans must stop."
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