Louisiana’s Republican-majority House voted Tuesday to override the Democratic governor’s veto on a bill banning sex reassignment surgeries and treatments for minors.
The state House of Representatives voted 75-23 to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto and reinstate House Bill 648, or the Stop Harming Our Kids Act, which would prohibit doctors in Louisiana from performing gender-reassignment surgeries and prescribing or administering hormones and puberty blockers to minors.
The override needs at least 26 votes in the state senate to pass.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, and a girl holding a sign reading “Leave Us Alone” among anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrators outside a Glendale Unified School District (GSUD) Board of Education meeting on June 20, 2023 in Glendale, California. (Fox News)
Republican state Rep. Gabe Firment, who sponsored the bill, previously described the bill to Fox News Digital as “veto proof” due to GOP majorities in both chambers.
“Thanks to the bi-partisan support of the Louisiana State Senate, we are one step closer to protecting children in Louisiana from experimental chemical and surgical sex change procedures. HB648 has passed both chambers of the state legislature with veto-proof majorities, and the people of Louisiana have made it clear that our children are worth fighting for,” Firment said.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and his wife Donna Edwards arrive for the State Dinner with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Edwards vetoed the bill on June 29, writing in his veto message that the bill tramples on “parental rights” and “denies healthcare to a very small, unique, and vulnerable group of children.”
Edwards said sex-change surgeries on minors are not occurring in his state, and that the bill is being fueled not by evidence of a growing problem, but by “propaganda and misinformation generated by national interest groups.”
Protesters of Kentucky Senate Bill SB150, known as the Transgender Health Bill, cheer on speakers during a rally on the lawn of the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., March 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
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The governor also handed down vetoes on HB 81, which would require educators to use students’ pronouns associated with their sex at birth, and HB 466, which would ban discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in K-12 classrooms.
The House failed on a 67-29 vote to override Edwards’ veto of HB 81 Tuesday, the Advocate reported.
