Kentucky Legislators Override Governor, Ban Sex Change Procedures for Minors

What You Need To Know:

• Kentucky passed a law that prohibits sex change surgeries and hormone treatments for minors, mandates students to use bathrooms that match their biological sex, and removes talk on gender identity in classrooms.
• Governor Andy Beshear vetoed the bill, stating that he believes it will endanger the children of Kentucky, but it was overridden by the Republican supermajority in both houses of the legislature.
• Kentucky joins the 11 other states that have outlawed sex change procedures for minors, and on the same day, West Virginia’s Republican governor signed into law a similar ban on child sex change treatments in his state.

On Wednesday, Kentucky legislators passed a bill that prohibits sex change surgeries and hormone treatments for minors, mandates students to use bathrooms that match their biological sex, and removes talk on gender identity in classrooms.

The law, which was passed along party lines in the legislature where Republicans have supermajorities in both houses, was vetoed by Democratic Governor Andy Beshear.

The governor said he believes “Senate Bill 150 will endanger the children of Kentucky.” However, the Republican supermajority in both houses of the legislature voted to override his veto.

The new law, known as SB 150, allows teachers to decline to use students’ preferred pronouns and prohibits lessons on gender ideology and sexual orientation in the classroom. Kentucky now joins the 11 other states that have outlawed sex change procedures for minors.

On the same day, West Virginia’s Republican Governor Jim Justice signed into law a similar ban on child sex change treatments in his state.

“SB 150 protects our youth from irreversible procedures,” said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) in a statement. “Beshear vetoed this bill because he is beholden to the far left. Today, his veto was overridden. I stand ready to defend this law and protect the well-being of our most precious resource, our children.”

The law reinforces a positive atmosphere in the classroom and removes unnecessary distractions, like woke ideology and mandating the use of specific pronouns in schools, according to state senator Mike Wise (R), the bill’s sponsor.

The passing of SB 150 has sparked protests among Democrats and trans activists. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Kentucky Capitol as lawmakers gathered to vote, with some disrupting the proceedings by shouting and chanting in the House gallery.

State police responded by arresting and charging 19 people with third-degree criminal trespassing. Officers gave each person “the option to leave without any enforcement action or be placed under arrest,” said police spokesman Capt. Paul Blanton.

Republican House Speaker David Osborne noted that “it’s unfortunate that it reached that level and certainly [the protesters] were given, as I’ve been told since then, multiple opportunities to either quiet their chants or to leave voluntarily.”

Source: freebeacon.com