Transgender: Celebs Rumors

Los Angeles Times.“I’m going to f–king gay bash you, fa—t,” the man yelled, forcing the actor to bolt toward the store in fear.Employees at the Pink Dot escorted a terrified Page into the shop, but the man allegedly followed him and stood at the store’s doorway.“This is why I need a gun,” the maniac reportedly yelled at Page through the glass door.Page — whose deadname was Ellen Page — revealed he was transgender in 2020. Now, he says he no longer feels safe in Los Angeles.“Now when I’m in Los Angeles, I don’t feel comfortable like I used to going for walks,” The Canadian-born entertainer said.The ordeal may have shaken the actor, but he acknowledged that he has the privilege to stay in safer hotels and hire security if needed, unlike most people living in LA.“Doesn’t mean it’s not traumatic, but I have resources that, in every instance that is difficult, protect and can shield me from these things,” Page told the outlet.The “Juno” star’s recounting of the alleged verbal assault and threats comes in the wake of another story she recently shared in his upcoming memoir “Pageboy,” about when a “famous a–hole” told him being gay “doesn’t exist.”Page, who came out as gay in February 2014, claims that an unnamed A-list actor told him he was going to “f—k you to make you realize you aren’t gay,’” at a birthday party in Los Angeles shortly after coming out.He “purposely” did not name the accused high-profile celebrity but said they would “hear about this and know it’s him.”The actor added that another celebrity, whom he describes only as an “acquaintance,” insisted, “‘You aren’t gay.

The second weekend of June is when the tentpole events of Capital Pride annually occur. It’s also when the Nation’s Capital, a progressive, inclusive, and diverse city year-round, reaches Pride fever pitch.

In his upcoming memoir Pageboy, Elliot Page reveals that a homophobic actor once confronted him at a party in Los Angeles back in 2014, telling him: “You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist.

The second weekend of June is when the tentpole events of Capital Pride annually occur. It’s also when the Nation’s Capital, a progressive, inclusive, and diverse city year-round, reaches Pride fever pitch.

Cultural Currents Institute, Google searches for questions such as “Am I gay?” “Am I lesbian?” “Am I trans?” and “how to come out,” as well as searches for “nonbinary” have jumped by 1,300 percent since 2004.The analysis suggests that more politically conservative states are the “most closeted,” with Utah, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, and New Hampshire leading the list of top states where Google users have searched “Am I gay?” For “Am I lesbian?” the top states were: Utah, Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington, and Colorado.For “Am I trans?” the top states were: Utah, Kentucky, Colorado, Michigan, and Washington.For the term “how to come out,” the states with the most searches were: Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky.“The regional differences highlighted below are significant, offering a geographical landscape of self-questioning and discovery across America,” Cultural Currents’ analysis reads.“Utah, a state with traditionally conservative social values, surprisingly tops three out of five search term categories.

British comedy legend John Cleese has lashed out at the press in recent days for allegedly reporting that he will be removing a politically incorrect scene from future adaptations of his movie “Life of Brian” to avoiding offending the trans community.In recent statements on Twitter, Cleese claimed that a reporter had “misreported me” when claiming the entertainer was planning to cut the famous “Loretta” scene for an upcoming stage adaptation of the classic religious satire film.He corrected the reports, claiming that he was merely illustrating what others had advised him to do with the potentially controversial scene. He declared he has “no intention” of removing it.The scene in question features a male character from the 1979 British comedy telling his associates that he wants to be woman named “Loretta” and demands the right to bear a child.

the comic’s polarizing comments in his Grammy-winning Netflix stand-up special “The Closer.”In the 2021 special, Chappelle said he “agrees” that “gender is a fact”, as he discussed how J.K. Rowling had been branded a “TERF” (Trans-exclusionary radical feminist).When asked if her new Netflix special in which she defended the transgender community “balanced out” Chappelle’s set, Sykes told Variety, “Um, I don’t know about balancing it out, because I think what he said was so hurtful and damaging to the trans community.“So yeah, the scale is still tipped, I will say, in their favor. But I know I wanted to say something, because so much has been said on that platform.

WSVN. The report says the victim told him to stop, but he continued and turned her over, pulling down her pants and penetrating her. Eventually he stopped, and she was able to pull up her pants and leave the bathroom.According to the police report, the woman and her friends later confronted Cavani, who reportedly responded, “I’m sorry, I thought it was cool,” to which the victim reportedly replied, “I kept on telling you no.”The trans woman went to Miami police headquarters to file a police report.Police later interviewed Cavani, who told officers he believed the encounter had been consensual, and sought to explain what had happened in the stall, claiming he would never force himself on anyone, according to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.According to the police report, Cavani said the pair went by the bathrooms to a corner to make out, at which point he began touching her through her clothing.

The Associated Press. Despite finding her account of the harms she suffered “credible,” an immigration judge denied her application for asylum on the grounds that she failed to provide sufficient evidence proving that she had faced persecution due to her transgender status.The judge noted, in that decision, that attitudes within Guatemala have changed over time, especially in urban or more cosmopolitan areas, and suggested she could relocate elsewhere within Guatemala, citing Santos-Zacaria’s own admission, under cross-examination, that societal mores have changed, albeit slowly, since she first fled.Santos-Zacaria appealed the judge’s decision, and the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed part of the judge’s findings, finding that she had established evidence of past persecution, but had not given enough evidence to suggest she would face future persecution in her home nation if deported back to Guatemala. Her lawyers argued that the BIA should have remanded the case back to the lower court, rather than issuing its own findings of fact. Santos-Zacaria then appealed to the 5th U.S.

Sports Illustrated is coming under fire for putting Kim Petras, a transgendered pop star, on one of its covers for the magazine’s annual Swimsuit Issue. Petras was revealed alongside Martha Stewart, Megan Fox and Brooks Nader as SI’s cover models f

content creator Dylan Mulvaney.Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, has been slammed with criticism after Mulvaney, 26, was gifted a personalized pack of beer with her face splashed across the cans for a March Madness campaign with the brand. The partnership came as the trans activist reached the milestone of her 365th day of transitioning.But as Bud Light customers trash their brews and the company’s sales plunge, celebrities, including Adzima, are championing the partnership.“The frenzy caused by such a simple act of marketing is disheartening and upsetting, to say the least,” Adzima told The Post.

the second-ever transgender model to do so.The publication is facing backlash from conservatives suggesting to boycott the publication for featuring a trans woman, though many people clapped right back at anti-transgender remarks.The artist was one of four women to appear alongside Megan Fox, Brooks Nader and Martha Stewart in the 2023 edition, and she opened up about the “pressure” she feels from being an icon in the LGBTQ+ community.“It’s definitely a scary time to be transgender in America, but there’s also so much more representation than there’s ever been, and there’s so many things on the bright side,” Petras, 30, told SI in her cover interview amid an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation popping up across the country.“I do feel a pressure sometimes to represent the trans community with everything I do,” the Grammy winner admitted. “Because I feel very blessed that I am at this point where I have all these amazing opportunities that I’ve worked really hard for, and feel so happy when I hear from trans people in general that they’re inspired by me.”Despite marking a win for the LGBTQ community, it sparked outrage against diverse representation from conservatives who were quick to compare the trans-inclusive cover to the widespread backlash Bud Light received after teaming up with transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney.“Except Kim Petras is not there because of her popularity with SI readership, but because SI editorial despises its readership, just as Bud Light management despises its customer base,” one Twitter user wrote in response to SI’s tweet about Petras’ cover.

Passed in 2022, the law is an expansion of a 2013 law prohibiting the dissemination of LGBTQ content in media or in places where such content may be viewed by children, especially with respect to portraying “non-traditional sexual relationships” as normal. Suspected violations can result in fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals and up to 5 million rubles for organizations, such as media outlets, that are merely accused of disseminating pro-LGBTQ “propaganda” — regardless of whether they actually did.According to Radio Svoboda, Russian government guardianship authorities brought a complaint against Dvorkin, the head of the Center T assistance group for transgender and nonbinary people and who is raising a foster child, in March for posts on his Telegram social media channel in which he mentioned living with a partner.According to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has frequently clashed with Russia’s Putin-led government, Dvorkin was flagged for commenting on a statement by Vitaly Milonov, a member of parliament who became infamous a few years ago for hosting a reality TV show focused around the idea of “outing” a gay man living among straight men in a house.Milonov, who has a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, reportedly claimed that all people who had left Russia voluntarily should be labeled “active homosexuals.”Dvorkin allegedly responded, in one of the Telegram posts flagged by state authorities, that that must mean that only “passive homosexuals” remained in the country, lacking “their partners and sex.”During the trial, lawyers pointed out errors in the case and noted that screenshots of the offending posts had been cut off and taken out of context.The defense also demanded that the trial be halted

occasional deviations from GOP orthodoxy on select issues — with her conservative bona fides.In those tweets, Mace also sought to push back against accusations of gender nonconformity — which might hamper a future campaign in her Republican-leaning district — by pointing out other women who have worn tuxedos in the past, while also arguing that her style of dress was a form of expressing her freedom to wear whatever she wants, as reported by LGBTQ Nation.The offending tweet came from Randan Steinhauser, a conservative public relations expert who describes herself in her Twitter bio as a “Counter-Cultural Christian Conservative WOMAN.”Steinhauser largely used the tweet to attack Mace’s somewhat-nuanced position on abortion — wherein the congressman opposes abortion but has called for finding “middle ground” during appearances on weekend TV news shows.“@NancyMace – I have known you for a longtime. But your recent anti-life statements & positions are very concerning,” tweeted Steinhauser, before shifting her focus to attack Mace’s style of dress.“Further, as our culture continues to undermine women by celebrating men who pretend to be them” — an apparent reference to transgender women — “why would you choose to wear a tux to the WHCD?” Steinhauser continued.Mace responded to a tweet from another conservative criticizing Steinhauser for attacking Mace’s choice of clothing.“When they can’t win the policy or the debate, they go straight for your appearance.

Hayley Kiyoko has claimed that an “undercover cop” arrived at her Nashville tour stop to warn her about legal consequences that could arise if she were to have drag queens join her onstage. Kiyoko, 32, who identifies as lesbian, performed Monday at Marathon Music Works in Music City as part of “The Panorama Tour.”In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the “Girls Like Girls” singerclaimed she invited local drag queens LiberTea and Ivy St James to perform with her — but “local law enforcement” advised the performer not to, due to Tennessee’s proposed legislation that would ban drag performers in the presence of minors.

argue the third charge should be dropped for vagueness about when the alleged exposure occurred. Witness testimony in court earlier this year claimed that Glines had been in a state of complete undress during all three incidents, which happened in the common area of the women’s locker room, with one woman saying she was shocked to see a “naked man” in the locker room, and another testifying that she could see Glines’s buttocks as they walked down the common hallway. However, none of the three complaining witnesses said they did not see Glines’s genital area, either because they removed themselves from the situation, or because the area was covered by other parts of the body.In a decision filed last Friday evening, Judge David McNamee ruled that there was no evidence Glines had exposed her genitals in the locker room, reports the Dayton Daily News. The judge noted that the case focuses on two elements: exposure of private parts, and a culpable state of mind.“The state argues that the court should subjectively determine the quality and nature of the coverage that prevents exposure of genitalia,” McNamee wrote.

lengthy letter “My Thoughts On What I’m Seeing” and claimed: “There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game and then parents in some cases allow it.”He continued, “There ARE individuals who as adults may decide reassignment is their needed choice but turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister’s clothes or a girl in her brother’s, we should lead them steps further down a path that’s far from the innocence of what they are doing.“With many children who have no real sense of sexuality or sexual experiences caught up in the ‘fun’ of using pronouns and saying what they identify as, some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad,” Stanley concluded.The Post has contacted reps for Stanley and KISS for comment.

a lawsuit brought by three families of transgender minors.In the complaint, the Justice Department argues that the law prohibiting access to gender-affirming care discriminates against transgender individuals under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.As such, the complaint asks the court to issue an order blocking the law from going into effect on July 1.Under the bill, SB 1, which easily passed on a largely party-line vote in the Republican-dominated state legislature, healthcare providers are prohibited from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgical interventions to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria.Those who do, as well as the parents of any minors who allow their children to receive such treatments, can be sued for up to 30 years afterwards if the patient later experiences “regret,” and medical providers can potentially lose their license to practice.In its complaint, the Justice Department argues that the law’s blanket ban on all types of medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria prohibits patients from receiving the most up-to-date, scientifically accurate, and best-recommended treatments, and forces doctors to decide between keeping their licenses or providing the best available care to their patients.The complaint also notes that the blanket ban discriminates against transgender people on the basis of both sex and transgender identity, denying them certain types of treatments, such as hormone therapy, that would otherwise be offered to cisgender individuals experiencing various ailments or conditions where hormonal interventions might be a recommended course of treatment.“SB 1 violates the constitutional rights of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable citizens,” U.S.

Present Tense: DC Punk and DIY, Right Now.Skeiky first got an eyeful of D.C.’s underground drag scene several years ago, shooting photos of punk bands like HomoSuperior, fronted by queen Donna Slash, before she actually joined the band as guitarist.“Because of my bandmate, I was exposed to more of the alternative drag D.C., beyond character drag or diva drag or drag brunch kind of things,” Skeiky recalls, noting that also was the first time she was seeing more trans and nonbinary performers.“I think the really beautiful part of D.C. drag is there are a lot of trans and nonbinary performers, and in general it gives more room to play, not just with doing a caricature of one gender or another in a binary.

WUSA9, the office awarded the money to Defend Yourself, an organization that shares skills to help those targeted for harassment, abuse, or assault to feel more safe and confident in their ability to defend themselves.The money from the Office of LGBTQ Affairs will allow Defend Yourself to train up to 10 transgender and nonbinary residents to become “empowerment self-defense teachers,” who can then share their skills and knowledge with others. Defend Yourself claims to have trained more than 35,000 D.C.-area residents to prevent, interrupt, and heal from gender-based violence since its founding in 1997, according to the organization’s director, Lauren Taylor.“Trans people, specially trans women of color, experience some of the most severe and frequent violence, including gender-based violence, of any group in the U.S.,” Taylor told WUSA9. “In the District, 47% of trans women have been sexually assaulted, as compared with 27% of women in the general U.S.

WMAR.In response to an inquiry from WMAR, the department declined to comment specifically on Gilliam’s allegations but expressed its commitment to ensuring transgender inmates are treated with respect.“While DPSCS cannot comment specifically on a pending lawsuit, we can say that the Department takes very seriously — and treats with urgency — the protection of every single incarcerated person’s dignity and safety,” the department said in a statement. “The Department has met with advocacy groups and has tirelessly worked on the complex issues related to the transgender incarcerated population, and is committed to updating its policies as necessary based on correctional and medical professionals’ recommendations to ensure the safety of everyone in our facilities,” the statement continues. It notes that all correctional facilities are regularly audited by federal authorities to ensure they are complying with provisions in the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a federal law designed to cut down on sexual assault incidents involving incarcerated individuals. “PREA standards prohibit the placement of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex incarcerated individuals in dedicated facilities, units, or wings solely on the basis of such identifications or status,” the department added.

Deadline reported. Koko was “not alert, conscious or breathing” and was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, per the report. As of yet, authorities haven’t named any suspects in the shooting.

arguing that their misgendering of transgender individuals — or just merely refusing to acknowledge transgender identity — was a form of free speech, which, when punished, forced other users to curb their own speech for fear of being banned or having their accounts suspended.As part of the changes to its hateful conduct policy, Twitter will now only put warning labels on tweets that “potentially” violate its rules against hateful conduct, instead of removing them from the platform.It also claims that offending tweets will be made less visible by being removed from search results or home timelines.According to The Associated Press, the social media giant appears to have deleted a reference to misgendering and deadnaming transgender individuals from a policy prohibiting “targeting” through “repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category.”The deletion of the references to deadnaming has been cheered by social conservatives and so-called “gender skeptics” as a victory for free speech, with supporters claiming it now allows transgender identity, and trans-related issues, to be “debated” in the public square without one side being silenced.The argument they employ — which aligns with Twitter CEO Musk’s attempt to rebrand the service as a “free speech” zone — is that those supportive of transgender identity and rights must now argue effectively in order to sway the public to their side, rather than having Twitter censors influencing the parameters of the “debate.”LGBTQ advocates have condemned the erasure of the language that — at least, in theory — should have helped protect transgender people from unwarranted harassment and deliberate

the Sunday Times. She was discussing her long career and the upcoming adaptation of her book, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” starring Rachel McAdams. Reporter Hadley Freeman also asked Blume about fellow popular children’s book author J.K. Rowling, 57, who has become a controversial figure for her views on the transgender community, for which Rowling has received death threats.

Barnaby said, “We have people that live among us today on planet Earth that are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet. This is the planet Earth, where God created men, male, and women, female. I’m a proud Christian conservative Republican.

A post shared by YITTY (@yitty)The announcement was made by the company on Instagram, where it shared a photo of Lizzo and several models wearing what appears to be items from the upcoming line.The caption reads, “When we say we support every body, we mean it. We believe in radical self-love for people of all gender identities—including the trans, non-binary, gender-fluid, and gender non-conforming communities that have been chronically underserved.

several major elements of Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.Under the newly enacted Kentucky law, school districts are banned from using pronouns that do not match a student’s assigned sex at birth, from teaching certain sex-related courses, and from allowing students to use facilities that match their gender identity, reports Louisville FOX affiliate KDRB.Teachers would be forced to disclose information to parents about their children’s behavior, including whether they are using different names or pronouns that don’t match their sex at birth, or any information disclosed to them by their students about their sexual orientation or gender identity. The new law prohibits schools from teaching human sexuality or sexually-transmitted diseases until after 5th grade, and no student, of any grade level, can receive instruction with “a goal or purpose of students studying or exploring gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.”Schools will also be required to adopt policies informing parents before any class in 6th grade or higher studies sex-related topics, including STDs, and must obtain parental consent before proceeding with any lessons.Schools must also provide alternatives for students whose parents wish to “opt out” of sex-related instruction, and must allow parents to review any materials used in the course of teaching.The bill also prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to minors, or from performing surgical interventions to assist a minor in transitioning to a gender that is different from their assigned sex at birth.

website, the school not only seeks to educate students but instill strong religious values in them, holding daily services at the school’s chapel and emphasizing service-learning, in which students apply knowledge and critical thinking to address pressing community needs.Drake said investigators found a manifesto, maps of the school, and writings from Hale indicating that the shooting was deliberately planned out.“We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date the actual incident,” he said. “We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”Metro Nashville police have declined to release any additional information about a possible motive for the shooting.“There’s right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later, but it’s not confirmed,” Drake told reporters on Monday afternoon.According to NBC News, when asked specifically if Hale’s gender identity may have factored into a potential motive, Drake replied, “There is some theory to that, we’re investigating all the leads.”Although The Covenant School’s doors are usually kept locked, Hale was able to enter the school by shooting through a side door and opened fire while walking up a flight of stairs leading to the school’s second floor, reports The National Desk.Hale was heavily armed, and was carrying an assault rifle, a AR-style handgun, and a handgun during the attack, according to Metro Nashville police.

“Celebration Tour” to Nashville this winter amid Tennessee’s new legislation against drag performers. The 64-year-old “Express Yourself” icon announced eight additional tour dates on Monday, one of which is in Music City on Dec.

website, the school not only seeks to educate students but instill strong religious values in them, holding daily services at the school’s chapel and emphasizing service-learning, in which students apply knowledge and critical thinking to address pressing community needs.Drake said investigators found a manifesto, maps of the school, and writings from Hale indicating that the shooting was deliberately planned out.“We have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date the actual incident,” he said. “We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”Metro Nashville police have declined to release any additional information about a possible motive for the shooting.“There’s right now a theory that we may be able to talk about later, but it’s not confirmed,” Drake told reporters on Monday afternoon.According to NBC News, when asked specifically if Hale’s gender identity may have factored into a potential motive, Drake replied, “There is some theory to that, we’re investigating all the leads.”Although The Covenant School’s doors are usually kept locked, Hale was able to enter the school by shooting through a side door, making her way up to the school’s second floor and opening fire as she made her way up the stairs, reports The National Desk.Hale was heavily armed, and was carrying an assault rifle, a AR-style handgun, and a handgun during the attack, according to Metro Nashville police.

according to local outlet RNZ.Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull — also known as Posie Parker — was in Australia as a part of her controversial “Let women speak” tour when a protester rushed forward and doused the activist with red liquid. Parker, 48, was then rushed by security forces to a waiting police car and fled the scene. The “Harry Potter” author condemned the attacks as “repellent” in a series of tweets.

Long Beach Post, a website devoted to local news and sports reporting, recusing himself from editorial duties when he ran for Long Beach City Council.In 2009, he was elected to represent much of the city’s downtown area, serving for five years before being elected as mayor of Long Beach in 2014. After serving two terms, he ran for an open congressional seat last year in a newly redrawn district representing his hometown, winning the election with over 68% of the vote.While Garcia is now a Democrat, his first forays into politics were as a Republican.

WYPR.There are currently estimated to be around 24,000 transgender individuals in Maryland, nearly one-quarter of whom are enrolled in Medicaid.In 2022, about 100 people received gender-affirming care through Medicaid. The proposed bill is expected to increase that number by about 25 people per year.Maryland health officials say that if each of the estimated 125 people were to utilize every single new gender-affirming treatment under the bill — which is not possible, as some of those procedures or treatments contradict each other, it would increase Medicaid spending by $7.6 million, or 0.6% of the $11.7 billion Maryland spent on Medicaid expenditures in 2019.Opponents of the bill argue that the services that transgender patients can have covered by Medicaid are not provided for other Medicaid recipients.Additionally, cisgender Medicaid recipients aren’t eligible for coverage for services like dentures, home birth services, or treatment for eating disorders, reports Baltimore FOX affiliate WBFF.“It seems discriminatory to utilize Medicaid money for cosmetic surgeries and fertility services that aren’t offered to other people on Medicaid,” Del.

ABC News.“The Governor has said she will sign laws that focus on protecting and educating our kids, not indoctrinating them, and believes our schools are no place for the radical left’s woke agenda,” Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement.

CBS News.In a March 6 letter to students prior to the referendum, Wellesley President Paula Johnson reiterated that the school will move forward with “our mission as a women’s college,” arguing that recent developments have underscored the need for women-only spaces.“For nearly 150 years, Wellesley’s mission has been to provide an excellent liberal arts education to women who will make a difference in the world,” wrote Johnson. “Events of the last few years — including a pandemic that has had a disproportionate economic impact on women, especially women of color, new restrictions on reproductive health and freedom in the United States, and attacks on women’s rights and education across the globe — have shown that this mission is as urgent as ever.“Wellesley was founded on the then-radical idea that educating women of all socioeconomic backgrounds leads to progress for everyone.

previous vetoes withstood override attempts, it is unclear whether the Republican-led legislature will amass the votes needed to enact the measure over Kelly’s objections — although initial vote tallies in both chambers seem to indicate the votes are there.Last year, Republicans seized upon Kelly’s vetoes as a major campaign issue, trying to paint her in TV and radio ads as out-of-step with Kansans and as hostile to women’s athletics, arguing that allowing transgender females to compete puts cisgender athletes at a disadvantage, robbing them of the opportunity to win awards and other honors.During the campaign, Kelly said that decisions on transgender eligibility should be left to individual schools, doctors, families, and local officials. As reported by The Associated Press, Kelly claimed that the bills favored by Republicans would have “created unnecessary new government mandates,” and could have potentially hurt the state’s business climate by creating a backlash similar to the one experienced by North Carolina when it passed a transgender restroom ban in 2016. Despite the onslaught of attack ads trumpeting the transgender sports issue, Kelly was ultimately re-elected narrowly last November.If Republicans do override Kelly’s veto, it would make Kansas the 19th state to pass a law restricting transgender participation in female-designated sports, prohibiting any student assigned male at birth from competing against women athletes, except in the case of a co-ed sports team or club.