In a surprise vote with little notice and no testimony from opponents of the bill, the Kentucky Senate’s Education Committee advanced Senate Bill 76 which would require transgender students to use the bathroom designed for those of their biological sex.
The bill was pushed by a conservative organization in the state after a high-profile situation at a Louisville high school in which a biologically female student was granted the right to use the boys bathrooms because that is the gender with which the student identifies and presents.
The bill fell one vote short in the committee last week when two Republican senators were absent. On Monday, three members were absent, including two from Louisville who had voted against the bill last week.
Testifying against the bill Monday were David Kelty and his daughter Christina Kelty, a sophomore at Louisville Atherton High School.
They said some students did not feel comfortable going to the bathroom with a transgender student.
“You are putting the rights of transgender students above the rights of other students” said Christina Kelty.
Fairness Campaign director Christ Hartman issued a statement on Monday. “Unfortunately, tonight, the Kentucky Senate chose to prioritize an issue of discrimination after it was defeated just days ago with bi-partisan opposition,” Hartman said. “Given the number and scale of important issues before the Senate this session, it is shocking the committee felt the need to re-vote on this. It is willful, mean-spirited, and does nothing to move our commonwealth forward.”
-Staff report
Photo: Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, asks a question during a meeting of the Senate Education Committee last week/LRC
