Republican New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte once again vetoed a “bathroom bill” that would have banned transgender-identifying men from women’s spaces.
The rejected legislation, called Senate Bill 552, would have allowed the classification of people “based on biological sex under certain limited circumstances” without the risk of discrimination charges, New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
Ayotte previously vetoed a nearly identical bill in February and another similar bill last year. Former Gov. Chris Sununu (R) also vetoed a similar bill near the end of his fourth term.
“Trying the same thing again isn’t going to get a different result,” Ayotte said in a statement Friday.
“I have continued to ask the Legislature to address this issue in a thoughtful, narrow way while protecting the privacy, safety, and rights of all Granite Staters,” Ayotte said. “Unfortunately, there is minimal difference between this bill, the bill I vetoed earlier this year, the one I vetoed last year, and the one vetoed in 2024 by Governor Sununu. … For this reason, I have vetoed Senate Bill 552.”
The primary sponsor of SB 552 is state Sen. Kevin Avard, who was also the primary sponsor of the previously rejected legislation and a co-sponsor of similar bills in previous legislative cycles. He did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment after Ayotte’s veto announcement just before 4:00 p.m. on Friday, per the report.
A similar bill in the state House, HB 1442, is still being considered. The primary sponsor of HB 1442, state Rep. Erica Layon (R), said she was disappointed in the governor’s veto.
“Although current law appears to grant equal respect to biological sex and gender identity, a multimillion-dollar political machine behind gender identity routinely silences women’s concerns,” Layon said.
“Granite State women are demanding relief and want to know why the governor opposes sex-based bathrooms that would exclude disgraced Rep. Laughton,” Layon said.
Layon was referring to former state Rep. Stacie Marie Laughton, a man pretending to be a woman and the state’s first openly “transgender” lawmaker who was sentenced on June 18, 2026, to 33 years behind bars for child exploitation.
Republicans dominate both the state House and Senate, although vetoing Ayotte would require a two-thirds majority vote. The bill passed the House in a 179-159 vote, according to the report.
House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson (D), said in a press release that her colleagues intend to uphold the Republican governor’s veto when they convene over the issue in the fall.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton
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