Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is facing backlash after he blocked a GOP-led measure that would have prevented transgender students in the state from competing on school sports teams that do not align with their biological sex.
Evers said the bill he vetoed “fails to comport with our Wisconsin values” in a letter Tuesday to state lawmakers. Assembly Bill 377 passed through both chambers of the state’s GOP-controlled legislature earlier this year.
“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to codifying discrimination into state statute and the Wisconsin State Legislature’s ongoing efforts to perpetuate hateful and discriminatory rhetoric and policies targeting LGBTQ Wisconsinites, including our transgender and gender nonconforming kids,” Evers wrote.
WISCONSIN GOV. EVERS VETOES $3B TAX CUT, DEI CRACKDOWNS, OTHER GOP-BACKED BILLS
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is facing backlash for vetoing a GOP-led measure to prevent transgender students in the state from competing on school sports teams that do not align with their biological sex. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
“This type of legislation, and the harmful rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBT Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our LGBTQ kids,” he added.
Evers vowed Tuesday to veto “any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids.”
The measure would have most prominently prohibited “pupils of the male sex from participating on an athletic team or in an athletic sport that is designated for females under par.”
Shortly after he announced the veto, Evers shared a clip of him rejecting the measure on social media, writing, “I just vetoed Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ bill to ban trans and gender nonconforming kids from participating in school sports teams that align with their gender identity.”
Riley Gaines, the former NCAA swim star who’s seemingly become the face of fairness in women’s sports after being forced to compete against biological men, took aim at Evers over his decision to reject the bill.
“BREAKING: I hate women and children,” Gaines wrote in a post to X. “Fixed it for you.”
