The measure is among dozens of Republican proposals pushing back against transgender rights in statehouses across the U.S. If supporters can override Kelly’s veto, Kansas would join 18 other states with such a law, including Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas. The measure would apply to girls’ and women’s K-12, club and college sports. “Despite her repeated pledges to meet us in the middle, the governor has decided to side yet again with the most radical elements of her party,” Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said in a statement Friday. The House and Senate votes on this year’s bill suggest supporters could have just enough votes to prevail. Republicans have more than the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override a veto, but in 20, a few GOP moderates voted against overriding Kelly. “They’re OK discriminating against a marginalized community,” Jones said after the veto. Taryn Jones, lobbyist for the LGBTQ-rights group Equality Kansas, called the bill “really just unnecessary.” Kelly’s arguments Friday were similar to those she made in past veto messages and during her reelection campaign. It won’t help any teachers prepare our kids for the real world.” “Let’s be clear what this bill is all about - politics,” Kelly wrote. Kelly also said lawmakers should leave the issue to the state association set up decades ago to run student activities in middle and high schools. The governor said in her veto message that the bill would harm students’ mental health and hurt the state’s efforts to recruit businesses. Kansas Republicans made Kelly’s vetoes a major issue in multiple television attack ads when she ran for reelection last year, winning narrowly. Kelly’s action was expected because of her two previous vetoes. Laura Kelly for the third year in a row Friday, setting up a hotly contested fight in the Republican-controlled Legislature to override her. (AP) - A Kansas bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports was vetoed by Democratic Gov.
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