Republican lawmakers push for, plan override vote on trans athlete bill following Holcomb veto

Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed a bill Monday that would ban transgender girls from girls school sports, but the debate about rules for transgender athletes is far from over.

People opposed to the bill praised the governor's decision, but state and federal Republican lawmakers are still pushing the issue.

Following the news of Holcomb's veto, several Indiana Republicans took to social media urging the General Assembly to override it.

One of them is U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) who said in a call with reporters Tuesday that Holcomb's veto letter isn't a good "direct" response, and that the bill is important to Hoosiers.

"I thought the response maybe was a way to kind of side wind around the essence of the discussion," he said.

Indiana lawmakers heard overwhelming opposition to the bill as it made its way through the Statehouse. Holcomb's veto letter outlined issues opponents described during public testimony – from concerns about lawsuits, to whether there's a problem for it to address at all.

But lawmakers still have the authority to overturn Holcomb’s veto, with a simple majority vote in both chambers.

READ MORE: Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoes transgender girls athletes ban bill

Katie Blair, director of advocacy and public policy for the ACLU of Indiana, said that's why it's critical people continue to reach out to their representatives.

"Lawmakers can certainly bring this bill back up – they can bring it back up over the summer months if they want to override the governor's veto," she said.

House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) said in a statement Tuesday the House will take up a veto override vote May 24.

Contact reporter Jeanie at jlindsa@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @jeanjeanielindz.