UPDATE: ND Senate overrides Gov. Burgum’s veto on controversial school pronoun bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (Valley News Live) - The North Dakota Senate voted 37-9 on Thursday to override Governor Doug Burgum’s veto on Senate Bill 2231. Next, the bill would need a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Representatives to go into law.

Gov. Burgum (R-ND) vetoed the controversial bill surrounding pronoun use in schools.

Senate Bill 2231 concerns “pronoun discriminatory practices and school policies on expressed gender” according to the North Dakota legislative website. It would have prohibited schools from referring to students and staff by any other pronouns that do not match their sex assigned at birth.

The ACLU advocacy manager for the state of North Dakota, Cody Schuler, says, “Discriminatory bills like Senate Bill 2231 are motivated by ignorance, misinformation and fear. We’re thrilled with Gov. Burgum’s decision to veto this bill. The practice of being intentional about using pronouns – and asking others about the pronouns they use – is all about respect. It ensures we’re using language that affirms the identities of everyone present, that doesn’t make assumptions about a person’s gender identity and promotes awareness of transgender and gender nonconforming communities. It’s really quite simple and shouldn’t be controversial!”

Gov. Burgum released a letter sent to the President of the ND Senate outlining his veto. That letter can be seen below.

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