Louisiana governor vetoes bills targeting gender-affirming care, pronoun usage

HB 648 would have banned gender-affirming care for minors — barring puberty-blockers, hormone treatment and surgeries. In a 6-page veto message sent to state House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, Edwards argued that the bill is part of a “targeted assault on children.”

“This bill is entitled the ‘Stop Harming Our Kids Act,’ which is ironic because that is precisely what it does,” the governor wrote. “This bill denies healthcare to a very small, unique, and vulnerable group of children.”

“And, without doubt, it is part of a targeted assault on children that the bill itself deems ‘not normal,’” he later added.

Another bill that experts dubbed as the state’s version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay Bill” — — HB 466 — would prevent teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in public school classrooms. In his veto message, Edwards said the bill places “vulnerable children” on the “front lines of a vicious culture war.”

“The bill is also unduly harsh as it allows students, teachers, and others serving students to totally disregard a student’s autonomy by forcing the student to answer to pronouns that they do not wish to use,” he said, adding “This forced rejection of self-identity is particularly cruel to a child and this cruelty may adversely affect the child in their formative years.”