KY Legislature overrides governor's veto, enacts protections for female athletes
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Advocacy Strategy Emilie Kao regarding the Kentucky Legislature’s override of Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto Wednesday of SB 83, a bill designed to protect athletic opportunities for the state’s female athletes:
“We commend the Kentucky Legislature for securing a level playing field for Kentucky’s female athletes by overriding Gov. Beshear’s misguided veto of SB 83. When the law ignores biological differences, women and girls bear the brunt of the harm. We’ve seen this in the increasing examples of males dominating girls’ athletic competitions when competing as females, capturing championships and shattering long-standing female track records. Kentucky now joins a strong coalition of states that have acted to preserve fair competition for all female athletes, whether in grade school or in college, ensuring they will not face the losses that come with allowing males to compete in women’s sports. We are grateful for the Kentucky legislators who took a strong stand for female athletes by overriding the governor’s veto.”
- Pronunciation guide: Kao (GOW’)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Emilie Kao
Emilie Kao serves as senior counsel and vice president of advocacy strategy for Alliance Defending Freedom. Before joining ADF, Kao served as director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. She also served as senior legal counsel at an international human rights law firm, East Asia team leader in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Human Rights, and director of international advocacy at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. She was an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and is co-editor of the “First Principles on International Human Rights” essay series. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and spoken at the United Nations in Geneva and New York. Kao earned her A.B. cum laude from Harvard University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is a member of the state bars of California and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court.