Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval late Wednesday to legislation barring transgender student-athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity, one of the last Republican-led states to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n
State senators in Nebraska\u2019s unicameral Legislature voted 33-16 to pass the measure, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, who wrote on social media that he looks forward to signing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
State Republicans pushed back on arguments from Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature on Wednesday that the measure, Legislative Bill 89<\/a>, discriminates against transgender students, arguing such a law is necessary to protect female students and maintain fairness in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cL.B. 89 is not about shutting doors,\u201d said state Sen. Loren Lippincott, one of the bill\u2019s co-sponsors. \u201cIt\u2019s about opening the right ones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nebraska Sen. John Fredrickson, one of two openly LGBTQ people serving in the state Legislature, said Wednesday, \u201cI believe we want to protect women. I think we also know this is not the way to do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis Legislature has made it clear that instead of addressing the real, material concerns of young people in Nebraska, we\u2019re going to use our power to punch down,\u201d said state Sen. Megan Hunt, an independent and the first LGBTQ person elected to the Legislature.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing with L.B. 89 \u2014 it\u2019s not protecting anyone. We\u2019re not making schools safer; we\u2019re not making sports more fair; we\u2019re singling out a tiny, tiny number of trans students, most of whom are just trying to survive in the face of increased scrutiny and hostility and ostracization from adults like us,\u201d Hunt said during Wednesday\u2019s floor debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nebraska Sen. Kathleen Kauth, who unsuccessfully sponsored a similar bill last year<\/a>, introduced the \u201cStand with Women Act\u201d in January at Pillen\u2019s request. Lawmakers amended the measure earlier this month to remove language that would have barred transgender people from using restrooms matching their gender identity in schools and state buildings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just common sense that girls shouldn\u2019t have to compete against biological boys,\u201d Pillen said in a post on social platform X<\/a> late Wednesday after the bill passed. \u201cThis legislative win will lead to many more victories for Nebraska\u2019s female athletes, as we ensure a level and fair playing field for all girls who compete.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nebraska\u00a0will join 26 other states in prohibiting transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. Federal judges are currently blocking enforcement of laws passed in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and West Virginia, and a narrow court ruling in New Hampshire allows only the two students challenging the law to continue competing on their schools\u2019 girls\u2019 teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n In February, a\u00a0federal judge allowed the two girls to expand their legal challenge<\/a> to include the Trump administration after President Trump signed an executive order to ban trans athletes<\/a> from school sports nationwide. At a signing ceremony, Trump said the order would also block transgender women from competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics<\/a> in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Alaska and Virginia, where legislation to restrict trans athletes\u2019 participation has failed to advance through divided state legislatures, high school sports associations prohibit transgender students from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n In February, the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) said it would ban trans girls from competing in girls\u2019 sports in line with Trump\u2019s executive order. NSAA Assistant Director Jeff Strauss said at the time that the organization\u2019s Gender Participation Committee has received eight applications from transgender students since 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which governs high school sports in the state, announced this week that it would allow more girls to compete<\/a> in its track-and-field state championships as Trump threatens California\u2019s funding<\/a> over a transgender 16-year-old’s qualification for the state finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n