The Louisiana House decided to override Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards‘ veto of a bill prohibiting medically transitioning for minor youths.
The legislation, sponsored by Republican State Representative Gabe Firment, would prohibit doctors from “prescribing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to minors, as well as administering gender-transition surgical procedures,” as reported by NOLA. The legislature passed the bill in June, only to be vetoed by Governor Edwards.
The override of the governor’s veto was adopted on Tuesday, 75-23. Two House Republicans, Joe Stagni of Kenner, and Paula Davis of Baton Rouge were not present for the vote.
Firment stated that the bill was necessary because youngsters in surrounding southern states were turning Louisiana into a destination for transgender medical care.
“If we don’t pass this bill, Louisiana will become the destination for children across the entire South to undergo these life-altering and irreversible medical experiments,” Firment warned.
Democrats, on the other hand, blamed Republicans with manufacturing a phantom issue that didn’t need to be addressed.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL“Proponents of this bill suggest that (the legislation is) necessary to stop physicians from attacking our children by performing these sex change surgeries. This is simply not happening in Louisiana,” Democrat state Rep. Jason Hughes said.
Gov. Edwards has stated that he will challenge the measure in court.
“Today, I was overridden for the second time, on my veto of a bill that needlessly harms a very small population of vulnerable children, their families, and their healthcare professionals,” he stated. “I expect the courts to throw out this unconstitutional bill, as well.”
From Breitbart News:
Lousiana will be hosting a gubernatorial election this year and current polls put Edwards’ challenger, Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry, in the lead by wide margins. Per the Shreveport Times:
A new independent Louisiana governor’s race poll shows Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry in a “commanding position” at this stage of the race with a wide lead on all of his GOP rivals and ahead of the only Democrat in the field.
The poll was conducted by Kaplan Strategies of Florida and isn’t affiliated with any campaign, firm President Doug Kaplan told USA Today Network. “This is one of only three governors’ races in the country and a good opportunity for us raise our profile,” he said. Kentucky and Mississippi are the other two states with races.
In the Louisiana governor’s race, 30% of those surveyed chose Landry, followed by Democrat Shawn Wilson, the former transportation secretary for Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, with 20%.
Republicans were unable to overturn another Edwards veto, this time of a bill that would have prohibited minors from discussing their sexuality in public schools. They also failed to overturn another veto of a law that would have mandated public school instructors “to use the pronouns and names that align with what students were assigned at birth.”
Louisiana will become the 20th state to prohibit children from transitioning.
“This year has been record-shattering for anti-LGBTQ legislation, with particular scrutiny on gender-affirming health care access for transgender children and teenagers. Nineteen states have passed laws restricting it — but not all bans are the same,” CNN reported.
“While some states have enacted laws that can punish health care professionals who provide gender-affirming treatment to minors with prison time, others have built-in limited exceptions for minors to continue medication-based or nonsurgical forms of care,” it continued.
