By rssfeeds-admin FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — A bill that would put an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and offices at Kentucky’s public colleges and universities was vetoed Thursday afternoon by the governor.
Gov. Andy Beshear took to social media around 1 p.m. on Thursday to announce the veto. He voiced his concern about House Bill 4 alongside others who opposed the bill, saying that inclusion is more important now than ever before.
“In the past, we were welcoming. We were one of the first Southern states to sign a civil rights act,” Beshear said. “But this bill, House Bill 4, moves us backwards. It makes people feel less welcome, less deserving. Less like they are welcomed in the Commonwealth, and I’ll always believe that diversity is a strength and never a weakness.”
Just before putting pen to paper, Beshear said HB 4 is about hate.
“Kentucky, we can’t turn back. We’ve got to keep moving forward together,” Beshear said on X.
Beshear was joined in the video by University of Louisville student Bradley Price, Lexington NAACP President Whit Whitaker, and Ricky Santiago, chapter president of the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, in support of the veto.
Whitaker said that equity, inclusion, accessibility, and diversity are embedded in everything the organization does.
“We cannot run away from [DEI] or look at it as this negative term,” Whitaker said.
Lawmakers return on March 27 and could overturn the veto.
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