A bill from Sen. Kathleen Kauth defining “male” and “female” and using those definitions to determine which sports teams Nebraska students are eligible to play for passed in the Nebraska Legislature Wednesday evening.
LB89, also known as the Stand With Women Act, defines a female as “an individual who naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization.”
Males are defined similarly, replacing the word “eggs” with “sperm.”
Sen. Loren Lippincott said the bill keeps female athletes from having awards and scholarships taken away by competitors with biological advantages.
“LB89 ensures that a girl who trains relentlessly for the shot put throw or her 400-meter relay is not outmatched by a biological male’s inherent advantages,” he said. “It’s about rewarding her grit, her sweat and her dreams.”
Lippincott said male athletes can generate much more power in explosive movements like sprinting or jumping than females, creating a safety risk when allowing them to compete together.
“Allowing biological males on female teams risk not just fairness, but also safety, especially in contact sports like wrestling or rugby, where physical disparities can lead to injuries,” he said.
Lippincott was the only proponent of the bill to speak during Wednesday’s debate, which was restricted to one hour. Sen. Megan Hunt led one final filibuster attempt on the bill, needing to sway just one senator who voted differently during the last round to be successful. She said the legislation takes advantage of vulnerable kids and that its proponents care more about scoring political points than fairness in women’s sports.
“Most kids are not as hateful and cynical as some of the people in this room,” she said. “These kids just want to play with their friends. They want to belong. They want to do the same activities that their friends do, whether that’s orchestra or band or speech or yes, sports.”
Sen. Dunixi Guereca said the legislation could hurt women’s sports by inviting angry parents to question the gender of successful athletes on opposing teams.
“What happens from the point of a pissed off dad walking up to coach, to ref, and saying, ‘No way, that’s a trans kid?’” he said.
As of this January, the Nebraska School Activities Association had received eight applications for sports participation from transgender athletes over the course of seven years.
After an hour of debate – and one protestor being removed from the chamber – 33 Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature voted for the bill. None of their 16 Democrat and independent colleagues joined them.
The bill is likely to be signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen, who celebrated its passage through a press release Wednesday night.
“This legislation achieves a key goal — protecting girls and women’s sports,” he wrote. “It’s just common sense that girls shouldn’t have to compete against biological boys. This legislative win will lead to many more victories for Nebraska’s female athletes, as we ensure a level and fair playing field for all girls who compete. I look forward to signing it into law.”
The mood was much different for the dozens of trans rights supporters who gathered in the rotunda following the vote, where senators who opposed LB89 encouraged them to continue their advocacy despite the legislative setback.
More from the Unicameral:
Legislature scales back sick leave, doesn’t change minimum wage
Legislature debates local government oversight, school finance
Legislature advances bill banning some consumable hemp products, taxing others
Legislature upholds Pillen’s veto of bedbug bill
Senators question Pillen’s appointments for Medical Cannabis Commission
Lower minimum wage revived, but may wait until next year
Legislative oversight proposal gets first-round approval
Nebraska Legislature fails to advance medical marijuana regulations
Raising other taxes to lower property taxes falls short
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