Kansas Lawmakers Side with Democrat Governor’s Veto

The overwhelmingly Republican Kansas House of Representatives sustained Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto is two controversial bills.

The Senate had earlier voted to override Kelly’s veto of both bills.

According to The Hill:

Advertisement

The state House of Representatives on Thursday voted to sustain Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 160 – officially titled the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” – that would have required public schools from the elementary to the university level to designate sports teams by “biological sex,” or a student’s sex assigned at birth.

House lawmakers on Thursday also voted to sustain the governor’s veto of House Bill 58, which would have given parents greater authority to review and challenge learning materials inconsistent with their “firmly held beliefs, values or principles,” which LGBTQ+ advocates have previously said would likely target topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Compassion wins today,” Kansas state Rep. Brandon Woodard (D), who in 2019 became one of the state’s first openly gay legislators, tweeted Thursday following the House vote. While the state Senate had earlier this week voted to override the governor’s veto, the House failed to get the two-thirds majority necessary to do so.