Bill To Restrict Transgender Athlete Participation Shot Down In Nebraska

Nebraska lawmakers on Friday failed to move forward with a legislation that would have banned transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams of the opposite gender. In addition to designation athletic participation based on birth-assigned gender, Legislative Bill 575, also known as the Sports and Spaces Act, also sought to require all students to use the bathroom consistent with their biological gender.

Nebraska lawmakers fail to move bill forward that prohibits transgender athletes from competing https://t.co/J8ypDgDhup https://t.co/J8ypDgDhup

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While the state Senate has a Republican majority, Republicans could not achieve the two-thirds majority vote required to pass the legislation, as only 31 out of 49 senators voted to end debate and force a vote on the measure. For the filibuster on the bill to end, 33 votes in favor of voting on the measure was required.

Two conservative senators abstained from the vote, claiming the bill was not complete. Explaining his reason for deciding not to go with his Republican colleagues on the bill, Sen. Tom Brandt (R-NE) said, “This bill is incomplete, and it needs to be reworked. My fear is it’ll affect all female athletes.”

The bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Kathleen Kauth (R-NE) criticized the two Senators’ decision to abstain from the vote. “I am disappointed that two of our Senators decided to not vote on the bill. I would have liked the opportunity to make adjustments,” she said, expressing worry that the senators’ decision will affect female athletes.

She, however, promised to bring back the bill next session.

For Democrats, the bill’s failure is cause for celebration, as they claim it is a victory for equality.

Calling the legislation a form of “discrimination,” Sen. Lynne Walz (D-NE) said “We all know what this is about, no matter how we dress it up. It’s discrimination. It’s a blanket ban on trans kids participating in extracurricular activities.”

The legislation faced a lot of opposition from LGBTQ advocates, who argued that it would exclude transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. In their opposition of the bill, Democrat lawmakers called it a veiled attack on young transgender individuals.

“We all know what this is about, no matter how we dress it up. It’s discrimination. It’s a blanket ban on trans kids participating in extracurricular activities,” Sen. Lynne Walz (D-NE) said.