(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed five bills he called anti-LGBTQ bills including bills that would require high school and public college athletic teams to declare if they are for coed, male or female athletes and have that sex defined as their sex at birth.
Evers also vetoed a bill that would create a civil cause of action against health care providers performing gender transition surgery on minors and one that would prohibit medical referrals for minors seeking certain gender medical interventions along with a bill related to how school boards define legal names and pronouns.
“This type of legislation stirs harmful rhetoric, negatively affects Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our trans and nonbinary kids,” Evers said about his vetoes. “Especially in the wake of continued attacks against LGBTQ communities, particularly targeting the trans community, our work to fight this hatred and bigotry is more important than ever. I’m proud to stand with LGBTQ kids and Wisconsinites today and every day.”
Bill authors, however, believe they are protecting athletes and following the public’s desires with Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, citing a 2024 Marquette Poll showing that 76% of Wisconsin residents saying that athletes should only compete on teams matching their gender at birth in his testimony.
“Girls and women deserve fair athletic competition and secure private spaces. With his veto, the Governor chose to disregard the interests of the vast majority of competitors,” said Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, co-author of two of the bills. “The Governor frames it as an issue of fairness, but the net outcome will be unfair and potentially unsafe for the vast majority of competitors as they work hard to achieve athletic greatness.”
The WIAA instituted a policy change last year that prevents individuals who were born male from competing against girls in high school sports, Hutton noted.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, wrote in testimony that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical interventions to children are being done at a high cost without long-term studies on the impact of the procedures and Senate Bill 405 would give patients recourse for the impact of those procedures later in life.
“For years, the gender medicine industry has operated with virtually no accountability,” Nedweski said in a statement. “If a doctor makes a mistake during a routine procedure, patients can sue. But when a child is permanently harmed by life-altering hormones or surgeries, families are left without recourse. That’s wrong—and Governor Evers just ensured it continues.”
