Kentucky's Democratic governor blocked the Republican-controlled state legislature's anti-transgender law only to see them override his veto in a lopsided vote Wednesday. The law bans gender-affirming healthcare for anyone under the age of 18, forces those already receiving it to detransition, makes it illegal to use school bathrooms assigned to a gender that was not assigned to you, and prohibits discussion of gender and sexual preference at every grade.
The Senate voted 29-8 to override Beshear's veto. A short time later, the House completed the override on a vote of 76-23.
As emotions surged, some people protesting the bill from the House gallery were removed and arrested after their prolonged chanting rang out in the chamber. The protesters, their hands bound, chanted "there's more of us not here" as they waited to be taken away from the Capitol.
This quote from one of the right-wing activists involved is remarkable for how it turns progressive, affirming language into a sneer:
In praising the veto override, David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, said the bill puts "policy in alignment with the truth that every child is created as a male or female and deserves to be loved, treated with dignity and accepted for who they really are."
The AP's summary of what the law bans:
The Kentucky measure will ban gender-affirming care for minors. It will outlaw gender reassignment surgery for anyone under 18, as well as the use of puberty blockers and hormones, and inpatient and outpatient gender-affirming hospital services.
Doctors will have to set a timeline to "detransition" children already taking puberty blockers or undergoing hormone therapy. They could continue offering care as they taper a youngster's treatments, if removing them from the treatment immediately could harm the child. Parts of the bill dealing with gender-affirming medical care will take effect in about three months. The bill will not allow schools to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age. It will also require school districts to devise bathroom policies that, "at a minimum," won't allow transgender children to use the bathroom aligned with their gender identities. It will further allow teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use and require schools to notify parents when lessons related to human sexuality are going to be taught.
