Louisiana Gov John Bel Edwards announced that he vetoed the Anti-Trans Sports bill Tuesday. Senate Bill 156 sponsored by Sen. Beth Mizell would prevent transgender girls and women from participating on athletic teams or in sporting events designated for girls or women at elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools.

“As I have said repeatedly when asked about this bill, discrimination is not a Louisiana value, and this bill was a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana,” the governor said in a statement. “Even the author of the bill acknowledged throughout the legislative session that there wasn’t a single case where this was an issue” in Louisiana.

The Republican Speaker of the House said that he supports holding a veto session in July. Should that take place the legislature will need a two-thirds majority to override the Governor’s veto.

Related: Transgender runner CeCe Telfer was ruled ineligible to compete in the Olympic trials due to new rules governing testosterone levels for specific events. The required level of 5 nanomoles or less per liter (nmol/L) for a span of 12 months can only be achieved through surgical processes that are unavailable to transgender minors.

Louisiana Trans Advocates released the following statement:

In the press release, Governor Edwards said, “it would make life more difficult for transgender children, who are some of the most vulnerable Louisianans when it comes to issues of mental health. We should be looking for more ways to unite rather than divide our citizens.”

Bravo, Governor Edwards, and thank you to all of you for your fierce advocacy throughout the 2021 legislative session. With this veto, we can now say that all four anti-trans bills filed this session will fail to become law.