By Will Hall, Message executive editor
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – A critical bill that would have prevented biological males (as transgender women) from taking women’s sports team spots away from biological females was defeated, July 21, during a veto override session in the Louisiana House, when 10 representatives either defected or did not vote after having previously supported the legislation in the regular session.
Sen. Beth Mizell (R), Senate president pro tempore and a member of First Baptist Church, Franklinton, authored S.B. 156 “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” as an attempt to level the playing field for women athletes. The bill was a response against the H.R. 5 “Equality Act” submitted in the U.S. Congress that would allow biological males to compete as females. It was passed at the federal level by the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. However, an executive mandate promoting transgender rights by President Joe Biden (D) calls for a review of federal policies that likely will produce the same result as passage of H.R. 5.
REGULAR SESSION
In the spring, the Louisiana Senate passed Mizell’s measure to guard against males on female teams, 29-6-4, and the House, too, 78-19-8. However, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) vetoed S.B. 156, causing an uproar among the faith community across the state, leading to the historic override session.
OVERRIDE SESSION
In the Senate, Mizell urged members who had previously supported the bill to stand firm.
“On May 6, we voted for S.B. 156 because we believed overwhelmingly that competition in women’s sports deserved protection,” she reminded her colleagues. “We did that with no prodding, no carrots, no sticks and not even any sugar,” an apparent reference to the political pressure brought to bear on legislators by opponents to the bill.
Mizell also mentioned the support garnered from the school superintendents around the state as well as the sports governing body, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.
In the end, two-thirds of the senators voted to override the governor’s veto, 26-12-1, sending the measure to the House.
Four senators did not vote for the bill the second time: Regina Barrow (D), Katrina Jackson (D), Gary Smith (D), and Gregory Tarver (D).
Sen. Mike Fesi (R), who was absent during the spring vote, voted in favor of S.B. 156 during the override session and even spoke in support of it from the floor.
In the House, Rep. Laura Schlegel (R) presented the bill for a vote, also underscoring the need to protect female athletes’ rights, which are enshrined in Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.
“It’s simply about one thing: fairness in women’s sports,” she said, adding that during the regular session the bill “passed overwhelmingly with 78 votes from both Democrats and Republicans with 50 coauthors.”
She also pointed out that it was the overwhelming response of Louisiana citizens’ support of the bill that prompted lawmakers to call for the historic veto override session.
In the end, however, the vote was 68-30-6, two votes short of the super majority needed to override the governor’s veto.
Seven House members abandoned their previous positions and voted against the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act: Roy Daryl Adams (I), Chad Brown (D), Robby Carter (D), Mack Courmier (D), Travis Johnson (D), Jeremy LaCombe (D), and Pat Moore (D).
Three representatives who voted for S.B. 156 the first time were absent from the veto override session: Wilford Carter (D), Kenny Cox (D), and Malinda White (I).
