Kentucky legislature overrides Democratic governor's veto of legislation to bar biological males from girls' sports

The Kentucky state legislature has overridden Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a bill to block biological males from competing in girls' or women's athletics from sixth grade through college.

Beshear had previously issued a veto message in which he pointed to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's policies regarding transgender participation, which indicate that students must compete based on the gender indicated on their birth certificate unless their gender has been legally reassigned.

"Again, the KHSAA policy requires that a student-athlete who has undergone sex reassignment after puberty must take hormonal therapy in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimize gender-related advantages in competition, and if the student-athlete stops taking hormonal therapy they must participate in the sport consistent with their birth gender," Beshear said in the veto message.

"Senate Bill 83 most likely violates the equal protection rights afforded by the United States Constitution because it discriminates against transgender children seeking to participate in girls' or women's sports. Moreover, Senate Bill 83 bans transgender children from participating in girls' or women's sports without presenting a single instance in Kentucky of a child gaining a competitive advantage as a result of sex reassignment," Beshear's message said.

The governor entered office in late 2019 and will seek re-election during Kentucky's 2023 gubernatorial election

The state legislature's veto override comes amid an ongoing national debate over issues pertaining to the radical gender ideology that leftists have been striving to promulgate throughout society.

Many Americans believe that children should not be exposed to leftist gender ideology, and that biological males should not be allowed to compete in girls' sports or utilize facilities designated for women.

Alabama has recently approved pieces of legislation that push back against the radical movement. Once it takes effect, one measure will make it a felony to prescribe or administer puberty blockers or gender reassignment hormones to individuals younger than 19. It also makes it a felony to perform gender reassignment surgery on individuals in that age range.

"I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl," Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, noted in a statement last week. "We should especially protect our children from these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries when they are at such a vulnerable stage in life. Instead, let us all focus on helping them to properly develop into the adults God intended them to be."