Fairness Campaign Condemns Final Passage & Veto Override of KY Anti-Trans Sports Ban

(FRANKFORT, Ky. - April 13, 2022) - Today, the Kentucky legislature voted to override Governor Andy Beshear's veto of Senate Bill 83 and enact the measure as law, banning transgender girls from participating in sports alongside their peers from sixth grade through college.

The Fairness Campaign releases the following statement from Executive Director Chris Hartman:

"Shame on the Kentucky General Assembly for attacking trans kids today. Shame on our commonwealth's lawmakers for passing the first explicitly anti-LGBTQ law in Kentucky in almost a decade.

"Today, the state legislature voted to override Gov. Beshear's veto and enact a discriminatory sports ban into law, depriving transgender girls of the opportunity to play on a school sports team, simply because of who they are.

"This law singles out the one openly transgender girl in Kentucky's entire school system who plays on a school sports team. She started her school's field hockey team, recruited all of the other team members, and just wanted the opportunity to play with her friends. Now Kentucky lawmakers have intervened to stop her from playing with her friends her eighth grade year.

"This bill has been so plainly about political gain and using Kentucky kids as political pawns that it is an embarrassment to our commonwealth. Instead of solving any of Kentucky's real problems, the politicians behind this bill used their power to bully this one student and take away rights from kids who just want to play games with friends. The bill is a carbon copy of the anti-trans bills sweeping the nation this past year and ignores the policies that were already in place to ensure an equal playing field for student-athletes.

"Kentuckians deserve lawmakers that protect all kids in our community, including transgender children. The enactment of this law makes clear that the rights of transgender people and kids in Kentucky are in danger. We're deeply committed to fighting back against this discriminatory bill and ensuring equal rights for everyone in our state.

"The fight won't stop here. We applaud Governor Andy Beshear and all those who stood on the side of justice, including several Republicans voting alongside Democrats in the Kentucky Senate and House to uphold the governor's veto. We look forward to the lawsuit that's sure to come. If we can't protect Kentucky's trans kids in our legislature, we'll protect them in our courts."

Founded in 1991, the Fairness Campaign is Kentucky's broad-based community effort dedicated to equal rights for LGBTQ people. Its primary goal is comprehensive civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to dismantle systemic racism.