Republican governor vetoes anti-trans bill… yes, really

Republicans just had their broken clock moment after a GOP state governor vetoed an anti-trans bathroom bill.

New Hampshire governor Kelly Ayotte made the unexpected decision to shut down a GOP-led anti-trans bill on Friday (6 February).

The Senate bill, SB 268, would have amended anti-discrimination laws to allow the banning of trans people from public spaces such as toilets and changing rooms.

It would have also banned trans people from joining gender-specific sporting events that are consistent with their correct gender identity.

The bill was effectively a copy of one that Governor Ayotte vetoed last year over concerns that it was “overly broad” and “impractical”.

She told the New Hampshire Bulletin on Monday that she overturned the latest GOP bill because it contained “minimal difference” to its predecessor.

“I made it clear this issue needed to be addressed in a thoughtful, narrow way that protects the privacy, safety, and rights of all Granite Staters,” she said.

Republican governor’s veto a ‘huge relief’ activists say

The move is unprecedented for a Republican governor given that anti-trans rhetoric has become the party line over the past few years.

While GOP lawmakers in the state have vowed to override the governor’s veto, it’s unlikely they will gain the votes necessary to do so, according to LGBTQ+ Nation.

New Hampshire LGBQ+ organisation 603 Equality’s executive director, Aimee Terravechia, celebrated the win for LGBTQ+ rights, saying that the governor’s decision is a “huge relief” for all trans people within the state.

“In a time of unrelenting legislative attacks and misinformation campaigns around transgender people and their rights, Gov. Ayotte’s veto affirms the basic rights and dignity for all Granite States,” they said. “Transgender and gender nonconforming people deserve safe access to public spaces as they go about living, working, and contributing to our communities.”

While the move is undoubtedly a win for trans rights, the governor has said she intends to pass any future bills that restrict trans people’s rights more specifically.

“I believe there are important and legitimate privacy and safety concerns raised by biological males using places such as female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities,” she said last year.

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