Nebraska state senators debated a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports.
The bill failed to overcome a filibuster despite support from 31 senators.
Two Republican cosponsors did not vote.
Supporters argued it protects girls from competing against biological males, while opponents called it discriminatory.
Senator Kathleen Kauth said transgender athletes can still participate as their biological sex.
“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,” Kauth said.
“The point of LB575 is discrimination,” Sen. Megan 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.
“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,” Kauth said.
Senator Murman cited polling showing 70% of adults support requiring athletes to compete based on their birth sex.
“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,” Sen. Dave 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.
Opponents argued it impacts very few people.
“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,” Sen. Anna Wishart said.
Currently 24 states have passed similar laws.
