Louisiana lawmakers succeeded in passing their bill to ban transgender medical treatments for minors. GOP members of the state House and Senate voted against the veto of Democratic Governor Edwards, who attempted to stop HB 648.
Louisiana thus joins 20 other states that legislated against trans treatment for minors. Procedures prohibited by law include surgeries of various types, hormone treatments and puberty blockers. It also provides for the prohibition of other "gender affirming" treatments for minors under 18 years of age. The law will come into effect as of the first day of 2024.
Veto Overridden pic.twitter.com/weyfW0cwJ7
— AG Jeff Landry (@AGJeffLandry) July 18, 2023
Republicans control the Louisiana state legislature with 39 senators and 71 representatives in their respective chambers. To revoke a veto, the support of two thirds of both is necessary.
In the vote, some Democratic legislators also voted against Governor Edwards. They used their power to reverse the governor's veto for the second time in Louisiana since 1974. This is also the second time this has happened to Governor Edwards.
For Democrat Edwards, Louisiana lawmakers have put "politics before people without considering the practical implications of the bill." "I firmly believe that the legislature has overstepped its authority and is interfering in critical health care decisions that only parents should make in consultation with their children and their children's doctors and psychologists," he added in a statement.
See below for a statement from Governor John Bel Edwards on the conclusion of the 2023 veto session. To read the governor’s full six-page veto letter on HB648, click here (https://t.co/qOXtq01dnD). pic.twitter.com/GIzvkX9H8K
— Gov. John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) July 18, 2023
This law opens the way for a court battle to commence against this law, as has occurred in other states in the country. In Arkansas, a federal judge struck down the law as unconstitutional. In Alabama and Indiana it is blocked. Similar situations also occurred in Tennessee, Oklahoma and Florida.
