Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has officially approved a new law that prohibits transgender students from participating in girls’ sports. This decision follows a growing trend in several states where transgender athletes are being excluded from women’s and girls’ teams.
Governor Pillen signed the bill surrounded by numerous lawmakers, female athletes, and supporters, including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines. Gaines is known for her strong advocacy in favor of banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
The law was passed by the Nebraska Legislature after a close vote along party lines, overcoming a filibuster. Initially, the law aimed to not only prevent transgender students from participating in girls’ sports but also restrict their use of bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity.
Sponsors agreed to drop the bathroom and locker room ban when one Republican — Omaha Sen. Merv Riepe — declared he would vote against it otherwise.
The measure was first introduced in 2023 by then-freshman Sen. Kathleen Kauth, but failed to advance as lawmakers angrily argued over Kauth’s other bill that sought to bar gender-affirming care for transgender minors under the age of 19. An amended version that banned gender-affirming surgery — but not all gender-affirming care — for minors later passed and was enacted that year.
On Wednesday, Kauth promised to revive her bathroom and locker room ban next year, reiterating her rejection that people can determine their own gender.
“Men are men and women are women,” she said, and urged voters in Riepe’s district to pressure him to support it.
Republicans behind the sports ban say it protects women and girls and their ability to fairly compete in sports. Opponents say with so few transgender students seeking to participate in sports, the measure is a solution in search of a problem.
Fewer than 10 transgender students have participated in middle school and high school sports in the state over the past decade, according to the Nebraska School Activities Association.
At least 24 other states have adopted similar bans. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order this year intended to dictate which sports competitions transgender athletes can enter and has battled in court with Maine over that state’s allowing transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska denounced the measure.
ACLU Nebraska Executive Director Mindy Rush Chipman said the ban “slams the door shut” for some transgender students to fully participate in their school communities.
“This ban will only create problems, not solve any,” Rush Chipman said, adding that “the constant targeting of LGBTQ+ Nebraskans must stop.”
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