Former Mayor Greg Ballard stands by Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of HB 1041. The bill, if passed, would have prohibited transgender female students from participating in school-sponsored girl sports.
Gov. Holcomb vetoed the bill in March, but the state General Assembly will meet Tuesday to decide if they will override the governor’s ruling.
The former Indianapolis mayor spoke with our news-gathering partners at WISH about the concerns he has if Republican lawmakers decide to go through with HB 1041. Ballard believes the “unnecessary law” would not only divide the state, but make it difficult to recruit new businesses to Indiana.
“Well, unfortunately, I think they are probably going to override the veto. I hope that they don’t, because this was an unnecessary bill. The IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletic Association) has been on top of this for years. There is no participating incident whatsoever. This seems to be a law that’s made up and, as Republicans, they should be looking at limited government, what’s the right thing to do, why have the oppressive arm of government solve this issue, solve the problem for which there is no issue.”
Tony Katz argues that this is a problem as the IHSAA has already granted waivers allowing transgender students to participate in girls’ high school sports. He believes not only should the Republican party stand-up and fight, but also involve the parents who deserve a say.
“The argument that this is not for limited government, is an argument of foolhardiness. This is about norms being ripped asunder, and you would think that conservatives were certainly about conserving norms. One of the norms that must be conserved at all times is that children are not adults and children need to be protected- more often than not from themselves.”
Ballard served as Indianapolis’ mayor from 2008-2016 and is in town for the Indy 500.
