BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A series of Louisiana bills that opponents fear will negatively impact LGBTQ+ youth neared final passage Monday, advancing into the final days of the legislative session. of the state.
Although similar bills have failed in the past, it appears the fate of Louisiana’s package of LGBTQ+-related bills is all but sealed, as they seemed likely to make their way to the desk of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards for consideration.
All of Louisiana’s bills received approval primarily along party lines in both the House and the Senate. Now they must go back to their original chambers, where they have already been overwhelmingly approved, for lawmakers to pass the mostly minor amendments. After agreeing to the amendments, the legislation will be sent to Edwards.
It remains to be determined whether Edwards, who has said he opposes such legislation, will veto any of the measures. Last year, Edwards decided not to block a Louisiana law barring transgender athletes from participating in women’s and women’s sports competitions, saying it was clear a ban would be overridden.
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If Edwards rejects any bill, lawmakers could call a veto session to try to overturn his decision. To override a veto, a two-thirds vote is required in both the House and the Senate. Republicans have a two-thirds majority in both chambers.
These are the Louisiana LGBTQ+ related bills that have passed and are still awaiting final passage.
Opponents of the Louisiana bill argue that it constitutes a targeted attack on the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, critics say that instead of protecting students, the legislation would harm an already vulnerable community, as research suggests transgender children and adults face increased risks of stress, depression and suicidal thoughts.
Advocates argue that the bill is a parental rights measure, allowing parents to address “sensitive issues” of gender identity and sexual orientation with their children when and how they see fit.
Louisiana’s pronoun legislation is among a wave of interchangeable bills being considered in state legislatures across the country that would formally allow or require schools to name transgender students or disclose them to their parents without consent. . Deadnaming refers to using the name a transgender person used before they transitioned.
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A bill, which has received state and national attention, would ban hormone treatments, gender-affirming surgery and puberty-blocking drugs for transgender minors in Louisiana.
The legislation had been struck down by a Senate committee last month. But amid mounting pressure from state attorney general Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Republican Party, Republican lawmakers successfully resurrected the bill.
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Republicans say the bill was not created to target a specific group, but to protect children from access to inappropriate material and strengthen parental rights. Opponents across the aisle say the bill addresses a problem that is not an immediate problem and they worry that LGBTQ+ related content could be censored.
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