'Unfathomable': Louisiana Republican-backed anti-LGBTQ bills vetoed by Democratic governor

01 July 2023

Three anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation have been vetoed by Louisiana Democratic Governor John Bell Edwards, The News & Observer reports.

According to CNN, HB 648 "would bar those under 18 in Louisiana from receiving gender-affirming surgeries, puberty blocking medications and hormone treatments, and punishes health care professionals that provide them with the revocation of their license for a minimum of two years."

Earlier this month, CNN reports, Edwards said during a press conference, "I will tell you that on those issues, the judgment of history, I believe, will be very clear. It will be as clear as the judgment of history has been on those who didn’t want civil rights in the 50s, for example. But I am not going to wait until then to say that it’s wrong. My judgment today is that those bills are wrong."

The News & Observer reports:

During the waning days of Louisiana's legislative session, lawmakers passed a series of controversial bills: a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors that includes puberty-blockers, hormone treatment and surgery; a 'Don't Say Gay' bill that broadly bars teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in public school classrooms; and a measure requiring public school teachers to use the pronouns and names that align with what students were assigned at birth.

The publication further notes:

Edwards vetoed all three bills. Edwards — who is in his final six months of office, unable to seek reelection this year due to consecutive term limits — has repeatedly described the bills as wrong, divisive and targeting a vulnerable group of people. State lawmakers will soon decide by majority vote whether they will return to the Capitol for a veto session, which would begin July 18.

According to CNN, Edwards' veto letter reads, "It is unfathomable to think that in my last few months serving as governor of this state that I would sign into law a bill that categorically denies health care for children and families based on propaganda and misinformation generated by national interest groups. I assessed the need for this bill based on Louisiana data and facts and read every word of this bill multiple times to determine if there was any possible merit to this bill. There is not."

The News & Observer's full report is available at this link. CNN's report is here.

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