Wisconsin’s Democrat Governor Tony Evers has vetoed a bill that sought to protect girls’ and women’s sports events from being dominated by male athletes.
Evers issued a gloating announcement that he vetoed the bill on Tuesday just weeks after it passed the state Senate.
The bill was passed by the state Senate in March by a 20 to 11 vote.
The legislation would require athletes to compete in sports categories in line with their real biological sex and not their so-called “gender identity.”
Evers had expressed displeasure with the legislation in the past.
The governor opted to veto the bill, arguing that it would only embolden “anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence,” according to a press release.
In the press release, Evers said:
“This type of legislation, and the harmful rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBTQ 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.
“I will veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids, and I will continue to keep my promise of using every power available to me to defend them, protect