Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill that would have barred males from participating in female athletics.

The bill (SB 160), dubbed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, states that interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural or club athletic teams and sports must be designated as one of the following based on biological sex:

  1. Males, men or boys;
  2. Females, women or girls;
  3. Coed or Mixed.

“Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex,” the bill stipulates.

The Kansas House of Representatives approved the bill on April 1, 2022, in a 74-39 vote. The bill was adopted largely along party lines, with 74 Republicans voting for the legislation, while all 34 Democrats and five Republicans voted against it.

Also on April 1, the Kansas state Senate approved the legislation in a 25-13 vote. Twenty-five Republicans voted for the legislation, while all 11 Democrats voted against it along with two Republicans.

Gov. Kelly then vetoed the bill on April 15.

“Both Republican and Democratic governors have joined me in vetoing similar divisive bills for the same reasons: it’s harmful to students and their families and it’s bad for business,” Gov. Kelly said in a statement.

But how is a bill to ensure that only females can participate in girls sports harmful to students?

The governor didn’t explain.

Bittany Jones, Esq., serves as the Director of Policy & Engagement for Kansas Family Voice, a Focus on the Family-allied Family Policy Council.

In a statement to The Daily Citizen, she said that she hopes the Kansas legislature will quickly muster enough votes to override Gov. Kelly’s veto and protect the integrity of female athletics in The Sunflower State.

“The Senate has already shown that it has the votes to override the veto. The true test will be in the House,” Jones told us.

“The House can and should override the veto as well. This is an extremely important issue to the people of Kansas and will be remembered at the ballot box. We expect override votes in the middle of next week.”

After Gov. Kelly vetoed SB 160, media outlets quickly pounced to frame the bill as being “anti-trans.”

NBC News remarked that supporters of save girls sports legislation “argue that they’re trying to preserve scholarship opportunities for girls and young women. They repeatedly refer to transgender women and girls as ‘biological’ men, males, or boys.”

But those who believe in science and the reality of male and female don’t “refer” to “transgender women” and “men” just because.

We do so because it’s true.

Those who follow the science know for a fact that there are only two sexes: men and women. And if a man believes he is a woman by claiming the title “transgender,” he is still a man, even if he is struggles with confusion over his sexual identity.

The Hill called SB 160 a “transgender sports ban,” saying the bill “would have barred trans women and girls from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity.”

But the bill does no such thing.

It only prohibits males from competing in girls and women’s sports.

To argue that it bans “trans women and girls” from competing on the women’s team is bad reporting – it prohibits males from doing so.

The push to protect girls and women’s sports has continued to gain steam across the nation.

Just last week, Kentucky became the 15th state to pass such a measure, and the 6th to do so this year.

The “transgender” movement, and the belief that an individual’s gender can be different from one’s biological sex, is an entirely recent and new phenomenon never before encountered in the history of humanity.

Christians can’t be blamed if they feel like they’ve been caught flat footed on this issue and aren’t quite sure how to respond.

But our team at The Daily Citizen will do our level best to help inform and equip you to respond to this issue in a truthful and Christ-centered way.

To learn more about how the ‘trans’ and gender redefinition movement is an attack on the family, check out this article from The Daily Citizen.

And to learn how Christians can respond to this issue with truth and love, click here.

Related articles and resources:

Transgender Resources

Kentucky Legislature Overrides Veto to Save Girls Sports

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