The Republican-led Kentucky Legislature voted Wednesday to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would restrict the lives of transgender youth, including banning access to health care and school bathrooms in which they feel safe.
The invoice SB150Considered by many to be one of the most extreme anti-transgender legislation, will ban gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors under the age of 18, ban discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 schools, and ban transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Teachers would also be allowed to refuse to use a student’s preferred pronouns.
the step by republicans effectively allowed the bill to become state law on Wednesday.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) vetoed the bill Friday, stating that allows too much government interference in matters of personal health care while depriving parents of the freedom to make medical decisions for their children.
“SB 150 also turns educators and administrators into investigators who must listen to student conversations and then knock on doors to confront and question parents and families about how students are behaving and/or referring to themselves or others.” Beshear said in his official declaration of veto on Friday.
But his veto was met with throwback of Kentucky’s Republican lawmakers, who hold the majority in both houses of the legislature. Sen. Max Wise (R), the bill’s sponsor, said parents should view this veto as “a slap in the face.”
“It should come as no surprise that Governor Beshear would put the politics of his party before the people of Kentucky, as he has done for his entire political career,” Wise said, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
With a Republican majority in both houses of the Kentucky legislature, many feared the possibility that lawmakers would override the governor’s veto, prompting hundreds of LGBTQIA+ youth and allies to protest at the state Capitol on Wednesday..
But the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives voted to override the governor’s veto of the bill, cementing it as state law. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky said in a statement that the bill’s health care ban provisions will not take effect until the end of June, 90 days after the closing of the bill. the legislature, during which the organization and others will likely take legal action. against the bill.
“Trans youth can still receive care until that part of the bill goes into effect. And we intend to take this fight to court to make sure Kentuckians’ right to that care continues,” said Amber Duke, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, in a statement. statement on Wednesday in response to the bill’s veto override.
State legislation is added to the 435 anti-transgender bills and the ongoing efforts by lawmakers across the country to restrict the rights of transgender and LGBTQ+ people by banning gender-affirming care, drag performances, and more. Beshear stressed in his veto Friday that the bill would “endanger Kentucky’s children” and result in an increase in suicides among the state’s transgender youth.
According to the Trevor Project National Survey45% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide and 14% attempted suicide in 2022. Recent data also shows that anti-trans bills have had a negative impact on the mental health of transgender and non-binary youth in the US Experts predict that as more anti-transgender policies are passed in states, transgender and LGBTQ youth will have limited resources to address their worsening mental health.