The Louisiana legislature voted in favor of overriding Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of a law that would ban medically transitioning minors.
Sponsored by Republican State Rep. Gabe Firment, the law would ban doctors from “prescribing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to minors, and from administering gender-transition surgical procedures,” according to NOLA. The state legislature passed the bill in June, only to be vetoed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
On Tuesday, the override of the governor’s veto passed 75-23 before it was approved by the State Senate. Two House Republicans, Paula Davis of Baton Rouge and Joe Stagni of Kenner, were absent during the vote. Firment argued that the state needed to pass the bill, fearing that children in neighboring southern states would turn Louisiana into a destination for receiving transgender medical care.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks in Baton Rouge, LA, Feb. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)
“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,” said Firment.
Democrats, however, charged that Republicans were inventing a phantom issue that did not need to be addressed.
“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,” said Democrat state Rep. Jason Hughes.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he would fight the law 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 health care professionals,” he said. “I expect the courts to throw out this unconstitutional bill, as well.”
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 failed to override another Edwards veto, a bill that would have barred sexuality from being discussed with children in public schools. They also failed to override another veto of a bill that would have required public school teachers “to use the pronouns and names that align with what students were assigned at birth.”
Supporters of LGBTQ rights stage a protest on the street in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 8, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Louisiana will become the 20th state to ban the transitioning of minors.
“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 noted.
“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 added.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
