Two Republicans joined Democrats in blocking legislation that would have stopped transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports in K-12 schools in Nebraska.
A bill that would stop student athletes from participating on sports teams for the opposite sex, as well as using locker rooms and bathrooms for the opposite sex, was blocked by a filibuster on Friday in Nebraska, according to a report by Nebraska Public Media.
After four hours of debate, 31 state senators voted for the legislation (LB575), but the bill needed 33 votes in order to end the filibuster.
Oddly, two Nebraska state senators who initially cosponsored LB575, state Sen. Merv Riepe (R-District 12) and state Sen. Tom Brandt (R-District 32), did not vote.
Riepe claimed the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) policy is sufficient, while Brandt reportedly questioned if the legislation was enforceable.
“We need to put these protections into law so that girls are not forced to compete against boys, so that boys and girls are not forced to share the intimate space of a locker room or bathroom,” Nebraska state Sen. Kathleen Kauth (R-District 31), the lead sponsor of LB575, said.
Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt (I-District 8), meanwhile, argued that the legislation protecting girls’ sports is simply an expression of “discrimination” and “hate,” and called Kauth a “bigot.”
“The point of LB575 is discrimination,” Hunt said. “The discrimination and the hate and the bigotry is the whole point. It is not about protecting women. It’s not about keeping women out of harm’s way.”
“It’s about the danger and the power of the imagination of a bigot: Senator Kathleen Kauth,” Hunt added.
Kauth argued the legislation didn’t stop anyone from participating in sports, saying, “Kids who are identifying as trans still have the same opportunity to compete as everybody else, but they need to do so on the on the same terms as everyone else, as members of their biological sex.”
Nebraska state Sen. Dave Murman (R-District 38) said the bill, also known as the Sports and Spaces Act, was a reflection of public sentiment, citing recent polling results.
“The Gallup 2023 poll found that 70 percent of U.S. adults say transgender athletes should be allowed to compete only on sports teams that correspond with the sexes they were assigned at birth,” Murman said. “Not only that, but this number was 8 percent higher than when they conducted the poll in 2021.”
“So the movement to protect women’s sports is not only widely supported, but the support is growing,” Murman added.
Nebraska state Sen. Anna Wishart (D-District 27), meanwhile, argued the legislation applied to very few people, saying, “We are talking about a population of people that is 1 percent or less in our state who are transgender. And an even smaller percentage of those individuals are involved in K-12 sports.”
As Breitbart News reported, however, studies strongly suggest the influx of transgender propaganda being exposed to children has resulted in a “dramatic increase in adolescents and young adults” claiming to be of the opposite sex.
Currently, 24 states have laws banning transgender students from participating in sports inconsistent with their biological sex, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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