Gov. Burgum vetoes trans pronoun bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum vetoes a bill that would have prohibited public schools from referring to students by pronouns that do not reflect the sex assigned to them at birth.

Burgum said his problem with the bill is one of local control to remove the discretion of school boards which should accommodate all students’ needs.

He adds it injects the state into rare instances more appropriately handled at the parent, school and district level.

“We’ve seen that a lot of people reached out to the Governor’s office asking for this veto and the Governor listened. So, people need to remember that engaging in democracy, it’s important because some of our elected leaders do listen to our voices and our Governor seems to be one of them. So, please continue, those who are concerned to reach out,” says Cody Schuler, the Advocacy Manager at the ACLU of North Dakota.

Schuler says laws affecting where people can go to the bathroom, what kind of medical care they can get and whether they can play sports in school are all discriminatory and should not make it to the Governor’s desk.