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Holcomb says he didn't try to stop veto override vote, calls the effort 'fruitless'

Advocates for transgender girls organized several protests at the Statehouse. House Bill 1041 easily passed both the House and Senate.
Advocates for transgender girls organized several protests at the Statehouse. House Bill 1041 easily passed both the House and Senate.

Gov. Eric Holcomb said Tuesday’s vote  to overturn his veto of a ban on transgender girls from girls school sports doesn’t solve a real problem in Indiana.

READ MORE: HB 1041 aims to keep school sports 'fair' by banning transgender girls. But is it an issue in Indiana?

Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of overturning the veto. Holcomb said he did not try to prevent that vote during the General Assembly’s technical session.

“I think that would have been fruitless,” Holcomb said. “Their message  was loud and clear and swift, from the first second that I vetoed it.”

READ MORE: 'A solution in search of a problem': Lawmakers vote to overturn trans girls sports veto Tuesday

Holcomb said the reaction from lawmakers has not persuaded him that the law solves a real problem in Indiana.

“The IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletic Association) has been very clear and effective in making sure girls/women’s sports in the state of Indiana – that competition and that integrity – is not threatened,” he said.

The ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit against the ban shortly after lawmakers voted.

The legislature has overturned four of Holcomb’s seven vetoes.

Contact Lauren at  lchapman@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at  @laurenechapman_.

Lauren Chapman is the digital producer for our statewide collaboration, and is based at WFYI in Indianapolis. She previous has worked at a basketball magazine, a top 30 newspaper, and a commercial television station. Lauren is new to public media, but in addition to her job "making stuff on the internet," she is also a radio and television reporter. She's a proud Ball State University alumna and grew up on the west side of Indianapolis.