Most Indiana voters take a dim view of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s recent decision to veto legislation barring male-born athletes from competing in girls’ sports, according to a new poll.
A majority 53.1% of likely Indiana voters disapprove of Mr. Holcomb’s March 21 veto of House Bill 1041, which would have barred biological males from competing in K-12 girls’ sports, found the survey conducted by SPRY Strategies for the conservative American Principles Project.
In addition, 64.5% of those surveyed support legislation to ban male-born athletes from girls’ sports; 56.3% support prohibiting K-3 students from learning about sexual orientation and gender identity, and 65.1% don’t want minors to access gender-reassignment surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.
“This polling definitively confirms what we already knew to be true: Indiana voters overwhelmingly oppose the woke gender ideology taking over our schools and our society,” said APP president Terry Schilling in a statement.
Mr. Holcomb, a Republican, characterized the bill as a solution in search of a problem, but he faces the real possibility of an override by the Republican-controlled state legislature at the May 24 veto session.
The legislation presumes “that there is an existing problem in K-12 sports in Indiana that requires further state government intervention,” said Mr. Holcomb in his veto message.
“It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met,” he said. “After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal.”
NEW: Poll of likely Indiana voters:
— American Principles (@approject) April 6, 2022
- 64.5% support legislation banning biological males from competing in girls’ sports
- 53.1% disapprove of @GovHolcomb’s veto of the legislation
- 56.3% support concepts of the Florida parental rights bill.https://t.co/MnAuxb3Utx
Fourteen states have passed Save Women’s Sports or Fairness in Women’s Sports bills, including Utah, where the state legislature overrode Republican Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto on March 25, three days after he issued it.
Other bills on gender-identity issues are also on the move in red states. In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation last month prohibiting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed last week both a women’s sports bill and a prohibition on gender-reassignment surgery for those under 18.
“These issues ought to be no-brainers, even without polling,” said Mr. Schilling. “But astonishingly, there are still Republicans out there like Gov. Holcomb who believe they have no choice but to surrender to the woke left on these fights.”
The poll also found that 77.4% of those surveyed were aware of Lia Thomas, the Ivy League swimmer who became last month the first male-born athlete to win an NCAA Division I women’s title.
Among those who had heard of Thomas, 65.6% were “strongly opposed” and 8.9% were “somewhat opposed” to NCAA decisions allowing “transgender athletes like Lia Thomas” to compete on women’s teams.
The poll was conducted by online mobile and panel interviews March 28-April 3 among a random sample of 1,012 likely 2022 voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, and the results are weighted.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.