Louisiana Republicans Overturn Veto on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth Ban

Republicans in Louisiana’s legislature overturned Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’s veto of a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors, but failed to muster enough votes to veto two other anti-LGBTQ+ bills on Tuesday. The Republicans had gathered for a rare one-day veto session.

The new law, HB 648, bans all gender-affirming care for minors in the state and revokes the licenses and certificates of any healthcare professionals who violate the ban for a minimum of two years. The law will take effect on January 1, 2024.

“Lawmakers who voted to overturn Governor Edwards’ veto of House Bill 648 have chosen to sacrifice the health and safety of Louisiana’s transgender children and undermine the rights of their parents,” the ACLU of Louisiana said in a statement following Tuesday’s vote. “This is extreme government overreach and a direct threat to the civil liberties and constitutional rights of all Louisianans. We condemn today’s override of HB648, and we will never stop fighting to protect the rights of transgender youth and their families.”

“LGBTQ+ youth in Louisiana deserve better than to be the targets of discriminatory legislative attacks. Denying transgender and non-binary youth access to best-practice, life-saving medical care puts their lives in very real danger,” Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at the Human Rights Campaign said in a statement. “Gov. Edwards did the right thing by vetoing this bill designed to marginalize and erase the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth. But unfortunately, Louisiana legislators continue to pander to an extreme portion of their base through unrelenting attacks on vulnerable children. They show no shame.”

Edwards sustained his veto of two other anti-LGBTQ+ bills on Tuesday.

HB 466 would have prevented teachers and school personnel from discussing “topics of sexual orientation or gender identity with students “in a manner that deviates” from curricula and standards approved by the public school governing authorities.

HB 81 would have required students to be addressed using binary pronouns “that align with the student’s sex” as listed on the student's birth certificate unless a parent provided written permission to do otherwise.

Louisiana joins a growing list of other states who have passed some form of “don’t say gay” anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent months. HRC said it has opposed over 570 anti-LGBTQ+ bills so far in 2023, with a total of 229 that specifically target the trans community and another 131 that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.