Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox promised a veto of a bill that seemingly had been a compromise on the issue of transgender children playing school sportsand then suddenly switched to an all-out ban, Fox 13 News reported.
A surprise substitute was introduced on House Bill 11 in the final hours of the 2022 legislative session. The bill proposed to create a special commission to evaluate the eligibility of transgender children who sought to play sports in middle and high schools.
Cox had brokered a compromised measure that, if approved, would remove evaluating transgender children based on physical characteristics.
State Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, the floor sponsor of HB11, introduced that item. Then Sen. Dan McCay introduced a substitute that had the ban. Then it would default to the commission. Bramble said he did not object to the substitute, noting his own daughter, who is an elite athlete.
In his interview with FOX 13, Cox began to cry as he addressed transgender children in Utah. He urged them to reach out to people for comfort and support, encouraging them to download the state's "SafeUT" app for people in crisis.
Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley released a statement Windy City Times received. Oakley said, in part, "As the first governor this year pledging to veto anti-trans legislation sent to his desk for signature, Gov. Cox deserves praise for standing up to those who continue to target and attack transgender youth. Transgender kids are kids, and they do not deserve to be the targets of dehumanizing attacks that invalidate their identity. Like all children, they deserve the opportunity to play sports with their friends and learn important life skills like sportsmanship, teamwork, and healthy competition through athletic participation."