Kentucky Senate Bill 83
| Kentucky Senate Bill 83 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kentucky General Assembly | |
| |
| Citation | [1] |
| Territorial extent |  Kentucky |
| Enacted by | Kentucky Senate |
| Enacted by | Kentucky House of Representatives |
| Vetoed by | Andy Beshear |
| Vetoed | April 6, 2022 |
| Veto overridden | April 16, 2022 |
| Effective | July 14, 2022 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Kentucky Senate | |
| Introduced by | Robby Mills[1] |
| Introduced | January 11, 2022 |
| First reading | February 10, 2022 |
| Second reading | February 11, 2022 |
| Third reading | February 16, 2022 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Second chamber: Kentucky House of Representatives | |
| Received from the Kentucky Senate | February 17, 2022 |
| First reading | March 10, 2022 |
| Second reading | March 11, 2022 |
| Third reading | March 17, 2022 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Final stages | |
| Reconsidered by the Kentucky Senate after veto | April 13, 2022 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Reconsidered by the Kentucky House of Representatives after veto | April 13, 2022 |
| Voting summary |
|
| Summary | |
| Bans transgender Kentuckians, specifically those assigned male at birth, from competing in girls' sports. | |
| Status: In force | |
Kentucky Senate Bill 83 (SB 83), also known as the Save Women's Sports Act or Fairness in Women's Sports Act, is a 2022 law in the state of Kentucky that prohibits transgender women from competing in women's sports.[2] It was vetoed by Governor Andy Beshear on April 6, 2022, but was overridden on April 13, 2022.[3][4] It became law on July 14, 2022.[5][6]
The bill specifically targets transgender women and girls. Senate Bill 83 allows anybody regardless of sex or gender to compete in male or coed sports, but prohibits those assigned male at birth from competing in girls' sports.[7] The Kentucky High School Athletic Association already had regulations on transgender athlete competition prior to Senate Bill 83, requiring a certain amount of time on hormone replacement therapy prior to being allowed to compete.[8] Only one transgender girl, Fischer Wells, is known to have been competing in girls' sports in Kentucky at the time SB 83 passed.[9][10][11][12]
Provisions
[edit]Senate Bill 83 prohibits anybody assigned male at birth from competing in girls' sports.[13] It applies to both K-12 schools and colleges in Kentucky.[14] It specifically determines eligibility based on birth certificates.[15]
Reactions
[edit]Support
[edit]Riley Gaines, a professional swimmer, supported Senate Bill 83 when it was under debate, stating that there were biological differences between those assigned male or female at birth that could not be ignored.[16][17]
Opposition
[edit]The Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU of Kentucky opposed SB 83.[18][19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Clark, Jess (2022-02-10). "Ky. lawmakers advance bill to keep trans girls off girls sports teams". Louisville Public Media. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Watkins, Morgan (2022-03-25). "Transgender sports ban bill passes in Kentucky. Here's what to know". Courier Journal. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Lavietes, Matt (2022-04-13). "Kentucky Legislature overrides governor's veto of transgender sports ban". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Krauth, Olivia (2024-07-24). "From Vetoes to VP Potential: How Gov. Andy Beshear has protected Queer Kentuckians". Queer Kentucky. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Presta, Alexandra (2022-07-12). "GUIDE: New Ky. laws going into effect on Thursday". lex18.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Several new Kentucky state laws take effect". 14 News. 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Gov. Beshear vetoes bill involving trans girls, sports". lex18.com. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Cole, Devan (2022-04-06). "Kentucky's Democratic governor vetoes anti-trans sports ban". CNN. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Balingit, Moriah (2022-08-25). "Kentucky's lone transgender athlete can't play on the team she helped start". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Kelly, Erin (2022-06-13). "What's next for Ky. student who spoke on trans sports bill". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Krauth, Olivia (2022-02-10). "Kentucky bill banning transgender girls from girls teams advances". Courier Journal. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Lang, Nico (2022-04-14). "Kentucky banned trans kids from sports to keep this 12-year-old girl from playing hockey". XtraMagazine. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Avila, Alejandro (2022-04-14). "Kentucky Bill Prohibiting Trans Athletes In School Sports Voted Into Law". OutKick. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Archie, Ayana (2022-04-08). "Kentucky governor vetoes bill banning transgender students from women's sports". NPR. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Helwig, Alexa (2022-03-25). "Kentucky lawmakers send transgender athlete bill to governor". ABC 7 On Your Side. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ McClanahan, Gil (2022-04-14). "Ky. Senate overrides veto of Fairness in Women's Sports Act; UK swimmer voices her opinion". wchstv.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Rogers, Zachary (2022-09-28). "Swimmer who raced Lia Thomas says Biden admin policies are 'absolutely not pro-women'". ABC 7 On Your Side. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Berg-Brousseau, Henry (2022-04-13). "HRC | BREAKING: Kentucky General Assembly Overrides Gov. Beshear's Veto of Anti-Trans Sports Ban". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Crankshaw, Samuel (2022-04-13). "Statement on New Law to Ban Trans Girls from Girls' Sports, Senate Bill 83". ACLU of Kentucky. Retrieved 2025-06-28.