Indianapolis (AP) —Governor of Indiana rejects bill on Monday Banning transgender women from participating in girls’ school sports While signing another Eliminate state permit requirements for carrying pistols in public places.
Republican Governor Eric Holcomb’s decision was made after both measures faced fierce opposition and before being approved by a GOP-controlled legislature to accept a pair of conservative causes across the country. I did.
The governor remained on the sidelines as state legislators discussed both issues and made a decision shortly before Tuesday’s deadline.
Opponents of the transgender sports bill, it’s A prejudiced response to a problem that does not exist, The Associated State of American Citizens in Indiana said it plans to file a proceeding against what is called a “hateful law.”
Republican sponsors of the bill said women’s sports integrity and the opportunity for girls to win college athletic scholarships need to be protected, but there are no examples of transgender athletes surpassing girls. Pointed out.
Holcomb announced support for the bill last month, His veto letter The law is “insufficient” to provide consistent state-wide policies for what he called “fairness in sports from kindergarten to high school.”
Holcomb also pointed out the Indiana High School Athletic Association. The association has a policy aimed at transgender students who want to play sports that match their gender identity, and states that transgender girls never finalized their requests to play in a girls team.
“The policy presumption set out in HEA1041 is that sports from kindergarten to high school in Indiana have existing problems that require further intervention by the state government,” Holcomb said in a letter. .. “This means that the goals of consistency and impartiality in competitive women’s sports are not currently being achieved. Both claims, even if they support the overall effort after a thorough examination. No evidence was found to support it. “
Indiana parliamentarians can revoke the governor’s veto with a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The veto invalidation vote may take place as soon as May 24, and legislative leaders are planning it as an interim one-day meeting.
Indiana law prohibits kindergarten to high school students born as men but identified as women from joining sports or sports teams designated for women or girls. However, it does not prevent students identified as female or trans-gender males from playing in male sports teams.
Eleven other Republican-led states have adopted legislation as described by political observers: The classic “wedge problem” that motivates conservative supporters After the governors of Iowa and South Dakota have signed the ban in recent weeks.
Indiana has vetoed Holcomb Public uproar over religious opposition Signed by the government at the time. Mike Pence, maintained by his opponent, can be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Republican-controlled state legislatures have refused to provide services and swiftly made amendments to prevent the law from being used as a legal defense to prevent LGBT protection from overriding local ordinances.
Democrats argued that Republicans are pursuing a nationally conservative “cultural war” by banning transgender girls from sports.
“Signing Bill 1041 would endanger the lives of our children,” said Democratic Chairman Mike Schmuhl. “But this unnecessary argument puts the kids in the tone that being transgender means they’re doing something wrong.”
Holcome objected in signing the abolition of the pistol permit requirement. Opposite of his state police foreman voice For further relaxation of the state’s generous firearms law.
The abolition of permits, called “constitutional carry” by gun rights advocates in connection with Article 2 of the Constitutional Amendment, abolishing the permit system strips screening tools to quickly identify dangerous people. It was criticized by a major law enforcement group that claimed to endanger officers by doing so. Don’t carry a gun.
At least 21 other states have already allowed residents to carry pistols without permission — and Ohio Republican Governor Signs Similar Bill last week.
Indianapolis Police Department police officer Doug Carter joined the leaders of the State Police Brotherhood, the Police Chiefs Association, and the County Prosecutor’s Association to oppose the change.
Carter stood behind the Senate in a state police uniform while the bill was being discussed. After voting, he said the bill’s approval “does not support law enforcement-a period of time.”
In a statement, Holcomb said the permit abolition bill “leaves Hoosiers, who can legally carry pistols, to do so responsibly in the state.”
“It’s important to note that even if federal or state law prohibits possession of firearms before the law comes into force, that person will still be banned,” Holcomb said. I am saying.
The Firearms Act, which will come into force on July 1, will make pistols public to anyone over the age of 18, except for reasons such as being convicted of a felony, facing a detention order from a court, or suffering from a dangerous mental illness. Allows you to carry it on the spot. Proponents argue that the permit requirement undermines the protection of Article 2 of the Constitutional Amendment by forcing law-abiding citizens to undergo police fingerprint authentication and background checks.
Carter, a former Republican sheriff in Hamilton County, central Indiana, first appointed by Pence to oversee state police in 2013, said in a statement: The best way to identify individuals who are not allowed to carry firearms, as defined by Indiana law. “