Louisiana Republicans vote to override governor’s veto on minor gender surgery ban

Louisiana’s Republican-majority House voted Tuesday to override the Democrat governor’s veto on a bill that bans sex reassignment surgeries and treatments for minors.

The state House of Representatives voted, 75-23, to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto and reinstate House Bill 648, or the Stop Harming Our Kids Act, which would prohibit doctors in Louisiana from performing gender-reassignment surgeries and prescribing or administering hormones and puberty blockers to minors.

The override needs at least 26 votes in the state Senate to pass.

Republican state Rep. Gabe Firment, who sponsored the bill, previously described the bill to Fox News Digital as ‘veto-proof’ due to GOP majorities in both chambers.

‘Thanks to the bi-partisan support of the Louisiana State Senate, we are one step closer to protecting children in Louisiana from experimental chemical and surgical sex change procedures. HB648 has passed both chambers of the state legislature with veto-proof majorities, and the people of Louisiana have made it clear that our children are worth fighting for,’ Firment said in a statement.

Edwards vetoed the bill on June 29, writing in his veto message that the bill tramples on ‘parental rights’ and ‘denies healthcare to a very small, unique, and vulnerable group of children.’

Edwards said sex-change surgeries on minors are not occurring in his state and that the bill is being fueled not by evidence of a growing problem but by ‘propaganda and misinformation generated by national interest groups.’

The governor also handed down vetoes on HB 81, which would require educators to use students’ pronouns associated with their sex at birth, and HB 466, which would ban discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in K-12 classrooms.

The House failed on a 67-29 vote to override Edwards’ veto of HB 81 Tuesday, The Advocate newspaper reported.