FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Senate Bill 83, a bill that bans transgender girls from participating in girls' sports overwhelmingly passes the House.
SB 83, which would ban transgender girls as young as 6th grade from competing on girls’ sports teams,will overwhelmingly pass the House. @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/yCGtJLaHkB
— Mike Valente (@ValenteLEX18) March 17, 2022
The bill will now go back to the Senate to reconcile changes made.
Keturah Herron the first openly LGBTQ+ representative elected to the State House, explains why she voted no on SB 83.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Herron says. “I want all of the LGBTQ kids across Kentucky to know that I love them.”
ACLU-Kentucky also responded to the passage of SB83, stating with this bill transgender girls will be singled out and "jeopardize our children’s mental health, physical well-being, and ability to access educational opportunities comparable to their peers."
"Senate Bill 83 violates students' Constitutional rights to equal protection and privacy, and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act by imposing a wholesale ban on transgender girls from participating in athletics consistent with their gender identity. Similar bans have been blocked in federal courts in Idaho and West Virginia, and a challenge to including trans girls was dismissed in Connecticut.
Senate Bill 83 was amended to ban girls and women from sixth grade through college. This would jeopardize colleges' and universities' participation in organizations like the National Collegiate Athletic Association because Senate Bill 83 could force Kentucky teams to violate NCAA policies." - ACLU-KY spokesperson Samuel Crankshaw
For the full statement from ACLU-Kentucky click here.
