LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Nebraska state senators are in the midst of a debate over LB575, known as the “Sports and Spaces Act.”
The bill aims to restrict transgender youth from accessing preferred bathrooms; require gender-specific sports in schools; and compel trans student-athletes to compete according to their birth-assigned sex.
State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue asked State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, who sponsored the bill, to talk more about how the topic became a concern for Nebraskans.
“Really, this isn’t a problem that most people were concerned about in your district until you opened the doors to the information,” Blood said.
Kauth said that her opinions do reflect those of her constituents as well.
“They do not feel comfortable being compelled to address a man as a woman,” she said.
As the Nebraska Legislature ticks down the final days of this session, bills that have been designated as a priority are the only ones advancing toward floor debate.
State Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington, who described herself as “decidedly not sporty,” questioned why the Unicameral was taking up precious time debating “rules about kids sports.”
“We are taking our time, which we have heard is very limited, and our intellectual labor and working on this issue instead of trying to figure out how to get property tax relief, instead of trying to figure how to get our revenue package right?” she said.
State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha vowed to filibuster the bill.
“I wanted this session to go better than last year. I refuse, categorically, across the board, no question about it, to let this happen without a cost. And that cost is time,” said Cavanaugh. “Get ready to hear my recipes, my movie synopsis, and on and on, until 575 is dead. That’s what we’re going to be doing.”
LB575 advanced out of the Education Committee on Thursday on a 5-2 vote. with an amendment in place, AM2049, which prohibits girls on cross-sex hormones from competing against other girls. But Glenvil Sen. Dave Murman’s staff said then that there was talk of changing the amendment on the floor.
Gov. Jim Pillen commented on LB575 during a Thursday afternoon news conference, calling it “common sense Nebraska values.”
“There’s nobody that wants their daughter to be in a locker room with a boy and there’s nobody that wants their son to be in a locker room with girls. It’s just not right, not the way we see it in Nebraska,” he said.
This is a developing story. Stay with 6 News for updates.
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