Kentucky governor vetoes transgender girls sports ban

By BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s governor has vetoed a bill that would bar transgender girls and women from participating in school sports matching their gender identity from sixth grade through college. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that the measure “most likely” violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection rights. The state’s Republican-dominated legislature will have a chance to override the veto when lawmakers reconvene April 13. Republican-led states increasingly have adopted such prohibitions on transgender girls or women. The culture war-related bans have been challenged in several states as violations of federal law. Beshear noted that similar measures drew vetoes from Republican governors in some other states.