BEATRICE – Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has endorsed a bill that would require separate restrooms, locker rooms and competitions for female and male athletes based on their biological sex.


LB 89, dubbed the Stand With Women Act…has been introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth.
"This act will cover everything the state is in charge of. That means our prison systems, that means our department of economic development. That means our DHHS...that means all of our academics, all the way up through post-secondary. We have to be able to say that a woman is a woman, a man is a man...and there should be some places where each sex has privacy...and if we have designated something as say, a woman business-owned grant...we shouldn't have men decide to be women and take that money. We shouldn't have men be able to play a sport and take a scholarship...or to have an injury to a player. This is common sense. It astounds me that I should have to introduce this bill."


Demonstrating how divisive the issue can be…the start of the Governor’s news conference Friday morning was interrupted by shouts.


"It's really, really important, that we get comfortable being uncomfortable standing up for the values that have made Nebraska he greatest place to live in (...man shouting from outside the news conference...)... I will tell you if anybody disrupts this press conference like that....we have plenty of security....you'll be taken out".'


Pillen issued an executive order last year to establish a women’s bill of rights, and Kauth attempted to pass legislation similar to the Stand With Women Act.


Two University of Nebraska Athletes spoke at the news conference Friday in support of Kauth’s bill…including Nebraska Softball Pitcher Jordy Bahl.


"We see those opposed to allowing men into women's sports locker rooms, restrooms and prisons, we see the people opposed to it, as the problem. So my question is, how in just this short amount of time have we gotten to this extreme? I believe a big part of the answer to that is just extremism across the board...there's been extreme to men, but there's also been extreme consequences for saying no to insanity that has been pushed onto us."


Governor Pillen said he was proud of those willing to speak out in support of the issue of separate bathrooms and separate sports involvement.


"The provisions in the Stand With Women Act are just simply common sense policies, in a world where sometimes no common sense exists. It's really important that we have the courage to stand up...we all need to get comfortable being uncomfortable....and I can't tell you how proud I am of the young women who have put themselves out there."


Kauth was asked how the act, if passed… would be enforced. She said it would have the Nebraska Department of Education take a role.


"The department of education has the ability to....if there are complaints, to talk with the school, have a cure period if they're unaware of the problem. If schools are deliberately not participating, then they have accreditation issues, so the department of education would take care of that. But across the state agencies, this is the law of the land....it's exactly like any other law."


Kauth acknowledged she may not yet have the minimum 33 votes needed of 49 lawmakers to achieve passage. She said she has had discussions with lawmakers since last year’s regular session….and has made changes to her original proposal to include all levels of education.