After Kelly Vetoes, City Council Calls for Trans-Athlete Ban

Photo credit: Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP

In a 7-1 vote yesterday, the Shawnee City Council almost unanimously approved a list of legislative priorities including Fairness in Women’s Sports bills that would ban athletes born biological males from participating in girls’ sports. As governor, Democrat Laura Kelly has twice vetoed legislation on the issue, leaving young girls and women unprotected and local jurisdictions begging for state action to protect their residents.

From The Shawnee Mission Post:

When public comments were over, Councilmember Eric Jenkins delivered a seven-minute speech taking commenters to task.

He objected, he said, to councilmembers being characterized as homophobic, saying the item is meant to protect a young woman’s years of hard work and dreams of sports accomplishment, and noted that he has a gay son.

Jenkins said he could relate to some of the arguments, but there’s no way a female athlete will be able to compete against the muscle mass and lung capacity of a male athlete, he said.

“We’re talking about protecting a young women who’s worked hard her entire life to achieve some goals she’s set for herself and now we’re going to just whisk that away from her because some guy decides he wants to be a female and he kind of wants to win the gold medal,” Jenkins said.

“Democrat Laura Kelly twice failed to protect women and girls from the radical transgender agenda reaching into Kansas schools and sports,” said RGA spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez. “Now local leaders are left to beg for a state solution that would protect their residents. It’s clear Kansans are desperate for real leadership after years of Laura Kelly’s obstruction.”