{"id":1625,"date":"2022-03-24T14:04:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T14:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/utah-governor-vetoes-transgender-athlete-bill-citing-high-suicide-rates-i-want-them-to-live-the-washington-post\/"},"modified":"2022-03-24T14:04:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T14:04:48","slug":"utah-governor-vetoes-transgender-athlete-bill-citing-high-suicide-rates-i-want-them-to-live-the-washington-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/24\/utah-governor-vetoes-transgender-athlete-bill-citing-high-suicide-rates-i-want-them-to-live-the-washington-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah governor vetoes transgender athlete bill, citing high suicide rates: 'I want them to live' – The Washington Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox became the second Republican governor in the past week to veto a bill that would have barred transgender athletes from competing in girls\u2019 sports, writing an impassioned letter to state GOP leaders on Tuesday explaining his decision.
Cox cited \u201cfundamental flaws\u201d in the legislation, known as H.B. 11. But chief among the governor\u2019s concerns were the mental health impacts such a bill could have on transgender youths in the state, he wrote.
Cox\u2019s decision to veto the bill highlights divisions within the Republican Party on the efficacy and morality of bills restricting the lives of young trans people. GOP leaders in Utah said they plan to override Cox\u2019s veto<\/a>, which would require approval from two-thirds of the state\u2019s lawmakers.
Indiana\u2019s GOP governor vetoes bill banning transgender girls from female sports in schools, citing \u2018unanswered questions\u2019<\/a><\/span>
In Cox\u2019s letter, which was also posted on Twitter<\/a>, the governor cited several reasons he was going against H.B. 11. He raised concerns about substantial last-minute changes to the bill\u2019s content; the potential economic and legal backlash; and a \u201cbroad misunderstanding\u201d around the participation of transgender youth in sports.
But what \u201cmost impacted\u201d Cox\u2019s decision were the implications the bill could have on the mental health of trans youths, he wrote, citing two striking numbers: 86 percent of trans youth have reported suicidality and 56 percent have reported a suicide attempt, a 2020 study found<\/a>.
Cox contrasted those numbers with the number of young people the bill could affect. Of the 75,000 high school kids who play sports at their schools in the Utah, only four are openly <\/b>transgender, Cox noted. Of that four, only one student plays on a girls\u2019 team.
\u201cFour kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That\u2019s what this is all about,\u201d Cox wrote. \u201cFour kids who aren\u2019t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are part of something.\u201d
\u201cRarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few,\u201d the governor continued. \u201cI don\u2019t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.\u201d
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad Wilson said they would call a veto override session to consider the bill on Friday.
\u201cWe must work to preserve the integrity of women\u2019s sports and ensure it remains safe and fair for all,\u201d Adams said in a statement<\/a>.
Utah Rep. Kera Birkeland, a Republican who proposed a House version of the bill, said she was disappointed by the veto<\/a> and vowed to continue to advocate for the issue: \u201cSports are [girls\u2019] opportunity to overcome obstacles and break barriers. But in order to do that, they need a fair playing field,\u201d she said in a statement.
In the last two years, conservative state legislators across the country have proposed and enacted restrictions on transgender youths\u2019 participation in interscholastic activities, including sports, as well as restrictions on their ability to access gender-affirming health care.
An Idaho bill would criminalize medical treatments for trans youths. It echoes abortion bans.<\/a><\/span>
According to the Human Rights Campaign<\/a>, 147 such bills were introduced across the country in 2021; the LGBTQ advocacy organization predicts that the number will be even higher this year<\/a>.
One of the most prominent policies targeting trans children and their families came out of Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state\u2019s child welfare agency to investigate gender-affirming care for trans youths as \u201cchild abuse.\u201d
The order drew legal challenges and widespread criticism<\/a> from major businesses, including Google, Apple and Johnson & Johnson. This month, a district judge suspended <\/a>Abbott\u2019s order.
Some governors have pushed back on these bills. In 2021, Kansas, Louisiana and North Dakota passed bills targeting young transgender athletes that were vetoed by their governors. On Monday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) struck down a similar bill. In a letter addressing his decision<\/a>, Holcomb said he found no evidence that K-12 sports needed additional government intervention. The governor also noted that the bill, if passed, would probably face legal challenges.
Cox and Holcomb are still outliers among their GOP peers: Similar laws<\/a> have already been passed by conservative legislatures in nearly a dozen states.
This legislation, whether it passes, has a profound impact on the mental health of trans and nonbinary children, said Amit Paley, chief executive of the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ teens and young adults.
Perspective | The mental health establishment is failing trans kids<\/a><\/span>
\u201cPeople literally debating whether trans and nonbinary people exist<\/a> and whether they are deserving of the same respect and support as other young people \u2014 the mere fact of those debates have a negative impact<\/a> on the health of young people,\u201d Paley said.
There is a \u201csad and heartbreaking irony\u201d to sports bans in particular, Paley said. The Trevor Project\u2019s research<\/a> has found that most LGBTQ youth said they had never participated in sports, be it a school team or community league or club. Many cited fear of being bullied or discriminated against as a key factor for not joining.
\u201cLawmakers are essentially trying to engage in bullying by legislation, by trying to make the few people that were able to feel community in sports feel like they don\u2019t belong and can\u2019t participate,\u201d Paley said.
For weeks, LGBTQ advocates and conservative lawmakers had worked together to try to strike a compromise<\/a> on the Utah bill, which at one point included the creation of a special commission to evaluate whether transgender children are eligible to play school athletics.
Republicans had proposed that the commission evaluate physical characteristics of transgender children, including their wingspan and hip-to-knee ratios. LGBTQ rights groups in the state vehemently opposed this approach: Candice Metzler, executive director of Transgender Education Advocates of Utah, told a local Fox News<\/a> outlet that such scrutiny would create another barrier for young trans people.
Lawmakers signaled last month that they would be open to amending the bill\u2019s language. But on the last day of the state\u2019s legislative session, Republicans opted to amend the bill to include a total ban of transgender participation in high school sports.
Paley stressed that mental health struggles are not endemic<\/a> to being trans, but the result of discrimination and stigma, which lead to increased feelings of isolation. The Trevor Project\u2019s research found that when transgender and nonbinary youth are supported and accepted by adults and peers in their lives, their odds of attempting suicide significantly diminish<\/a>.
In his letter, Cox also raised concerns about the \u201cmillions of dollars in legal fees\u201d H.B. 11 could draw. In the event of a veto override, Cox said he hoped the legislature could find ways to affirm transgender youth while regulating their participation in high school sports.
But the governor also nodded to the way bills targeting transgender youth have become a litmus test for the Republican Party at large. Several of the H.B. 11\u2032s strongest proponents are up for reelection this year.
\u201cI recognize the political realities of my decision,\u201d wrote Cox, who will be up for reelection in 2024. \u201cPolitically, it would be much easier and better for me to simply sign the bill.\u201d
Read the latest stories on our gender and identity page<\/a>.
Also be sure to sign up for our free newsletter<\/a> and follow us on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox became the second Republican governor in the past week to veto a bill that would have barred transgender athletes from competing in girls\u2019 sports, writing an impassioned letter to state GOP leaders on Tuesday explaining his decision.Cox cited \u201cfundamental flaws\u201d in the legislation, known as H.B. 11. But chief among the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}