North Dakota legislature fails to override veto of transgender pronoun bill

North Dakota House Republicans on Monday failed to secure enough votes to override Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto of legislation that would have allowed state employees and educators to misgender transgender staff and students.

The North Dakota House in a 56-36 vote on Monday failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed to override Burgum’s veto of Senate Bill 2231, which had sought to prevent public schools and state government entities from adopting policies that require students and employees to address a transgender person using pronouns consistent with their gender identity.

Burgum vetoed the measure last week, writing in a letter to North Dakota Senate President Tammy Miller (R) that the bill would have forced teachers to “take on the role of pronoun police.”

Burgum in the letter wrote that he would have signed off on the proposed law if it had only applied to state government employees, arguing that existing free speech protections already shield against compelled speech.

But extending the same requirements to schools is a step too far, Burgum wrote, and “infringes on local control by unnecessarily injecting the state into rare instances most appropriately handled at the parent, teacher and school district level.”

“This section removes discretion from school boards, schools and teachers in determining how to accommodate the needs of all students in public schools,” Burgum wrote.

Burgum’s veto was quickly overridden last week by the North Dakota Senate in a 37-9 vote, but with the effort falling short in the House, Burgum’s veto will stand and the legislation will not take effect.

At least 15 other bills targeting LGBTQ people have been introduced in the North Dakota legislature this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, including legislation to bar transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams and to criminally prosecute doctors who provide gender-affirming health care to minors.