Indiana GOP governor vetoes bill seeking to ban biological males from competing in women's sports



Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb this week vetoed a bill that sought to prevent biological males from competing in women's interscholastic sports, calling the legislation too broad and claiming there is currently no need for such a policy in Indiana.

Holcomb's veto comes as at least 11 other Republican states across the country have passed bills to guard competitive fairness against the designs of the transgender movement. In recent years, it has become more common for schools and other institutions to allow biological males presenting as transgender females to compete in women's sports.

Often, the athletes go on to easily defeat the female competition given their physical advantage. Just this past week, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas garnered national headlines and ignited controversy after becoming the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA women's swimming title.

But in a letter to state lawmakers on Monday, Holcomb argued that such a problem doesn't currently exist in his state, and so the bill, known as HEA 1041, is not necessary.

"The presumption of the policy laid out in HEA 1041 is that there is an existing problem in K-12 sports in Indiana that requires further state government intervention," the governor wrote.

"It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met," he continued, adding, "After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal."

Holcomb also raised concerns that the bill sent to his desk was too broad and consequently would lead to confusion in school districts and result in legal challenges upon passage.

"If it is the goal of HEA 1041 to provide clarity and one consistent state policy regarding the fairness in K-12 sports in Indiana, for me this current bill falls short," Holcomb wrote. "The wide-open nature of the grievance provisions in HEA 1041 that apply to all K-12 schools in Indiana makes it unclear about how consistency and fairness will be maintained for parents and students across different counties and school districts."

While the bill's message is clear, it intentionally leaves vague the processes by which grievances are filed and subsequently resolved.

The bill states that "a male, based on a student's biological sex at birth in accordance with the student's genetics and reproductive biology, may not participate on an athletic team or sport designated under this section as being a female, women's, or girls' athletic team or sport."

From there, any student or parent can submit a grievance and every schooling institution in the state is required to establish and maintain a resolution procedure.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Holcomb, who has often embraced conservative policies, would consider signing a tweaked or narrower version of the bill. But in his letter, the governor did call the aim to protect fairness in women's sports "a worthy cause for sure."

On the same day that he vetoed HEA 1041, Holcomb signed a bill that allowed for permitless carry of handguns in his state.

Horowitz: Indiana Gov. Holcomb sounds like Biden, blames unvaccinated for spike in vaccinated infections



Conservatives were appalled when Biden erroneously and absurdly blamed the unvaccinated for failing to protect the vaccinated by not getting the protection that failed to protect the protected. Yet nearly every Republican governor not named DeSantis — even those opposing mandates — privately believes in the same disproven “pandemic of the unvaccinated” trope. Indiana’s Eric Holcomb was at least honest about his flat-earth feelings.

“We deal with the absurd and we deal with facts and there’s a lot in between there for people to form their own opinions,” Holcomb told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “What I have to do is try to be persuasive enough so that folks understand that they’re going to learn it the easy way or the hard way, unfortunately, by being vaccinated or not.”

“It is, though, largely a pandemic of the unvaccinated and at some point, and we’re there, individuals need to take responsibility for their lives,” Holcomb added. “Unfortunately, their inactions have adverse consequences to others.”

How can their inaction affect others who have the “protection”? Moreover, this comes a month after Holcomb himself received a “booster.” But if it’s all the unvaccinated who are getting clinically ill, then why would he need a booster? And if the first one didn’t work, then is it the “unboosted” who are now as evil as the “unvaccinated”? In fact, Fauci himself just indicated that anyone who doesn’t have three shots (and likely four in another month or so) will be considered “unvaccinated.”

And why would the booster of the same failed mechanism work better this time, as the virus has changed even more?

It is Holcomb who is ignorant of the facts. The reality is that 8.2 billion doses of shots have been administered globally this year, 460 million in the U.S., yet there is more COVID and all-cause mortality this year than last year, with no shots and much less built-up immunity. How is this not the "pandemic of the vaccinated" because of the leaky, viral immune escape-inducing shots?

Researchers from the University of Michigan just posted a first-of-its-kind study confirming that it is the vaccinated who are making the virus more virulent. After tracking “the evolutionary trajectories of vaccine-resistant mutations in more than 2.2 million SARS-CoV-2 genomes,” they found “the occurrence and frequency of vaccine-resistant mutations correlate strongly with the vaccination rates in Europe and America.” That is the hallmark of a failed vaccine, which creates antibody dependent disease enhancement, which likely made Delta much worse.

Also, it is simply criminal to utterly ignore the reams of data and safety signals hinting at major short-term and long-term side effects from these shots. It is utterly disgusting that nearly every Republican governor is on the wrong side of the issue of our time – and it is costing lives.

The reality is that the shots work the least for the elderly and immune-compromised. To this day, Holcomb is giving them a false sense of security by promoting a shot that is risky to them but does not confer enough protection to keep them out of the hospital. Unlike the Florida governor, he has failed to invest in the monoclonal antibodies and publicize them to those who need them the most. Ultimately, someone who has the monoclonals doesn’t need the shots, but someone who has the shots and inevitably gets COVID still needs the monoclonals. But because of Holcomb’s misinformation, too many of these people are convinced they can’t fall seriously ill with the shots and often wait until they already suffer significant pulmonary inflammation before treating the virus. At that point, it’s already passed the viral stage and is often too late for the monoclonals. And God forbid Holcomb should promote any other proven, safe treatment for inflammation and blood clots, lest he anger his Big Pharma puppet masters.

There is zero information about monoclonal antibodies on the Indiana COVID dashboard, even though it promotes the boosters, in itself a refutation of vaccine efficacy and the narrative of the “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” The monoclonals are severely rationed, often forcing people to delay until it’s too late. A Hoosier listener of my podcast with a husband who is severely immunocompromised spent over an hour on the phone with someone who could barely speak English at a 211 Crush Covid call center staffed in a foreign country just to find out if she needs a doctor’s prescription. Each facility sets its criteria for infusion, and most centers are at hospitals. In Florida, on the other hand, anyone who catches COVID can rest easy knowing they can easily walk into an outpatient clinic within 100 miles and access the lifesaving treatment.

Sickeningly, the Indiana Department of Health is even promoting the shots for young kids!

Have you scheduled your kid's #COVID19 shot?\n\nVisit http://ourshot.in.gov\u00a0 to find a location near you.\n\nSupplies are limited, patience is appreciated.pic.twitter.com/b9DsgADSGo
— Indiana Department of Health (@Indiana Department of Health) 1638399666
Gifts \nUgly sweater \nVaccine booster \n\nEveryone age 18+ should get a booster shot as soon as possible.\n\nFind free vaccines near you at http://ourshot.in.gov\u00a0pic.twitter.com/IyduGdc1Jg
— Indiana Department of Health (@Indiana Department of Health) 1638918030

Think about it, Holcomb. You are promoting unsafe and ineffective shots for people who don’t die from COVID, but you will not promote the monoclonals for seniors who already got the shots but got severely ill from the virus. Your despicable inaction is what’s costing lives.