Republican lawmakers in North Carolina voted Wednesday to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of several bills and pass new laws aimed at transgender youth, reported The News & Observer.
The House and Senate largely along party lines voted to pass legislation restricting hormone treatments, surgeries, and puberty blockers for young people, preventing how gender identity can be discussed in schools, and prohibiting trans athletes from competing on girls' sports teams.
"These are the wrong priorities, especially when they should be working nights and weekends if necessary to get a budget passed by the end of the month," Cooper said, in part, in a statement that addressed the veto overrides.
NC Values Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald lauded passage of HB 574, which states that a "student's sex shall be recognized based solely on the student's reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and bars trans athletes from competing on girls' middle school, high school, and collegiate teams.
"Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field," Fitzgerald said in a statement. "Allowing males to compete in girls' sports destroys fair competition and women's athletic opportunities.
"Bodies play sports, not identities, and this bill ensures North Carolina girls and women won't be benched in their own sports and can train confidently knowing they have a safe and level playing field."
SB49, which requires that parents be notified "prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school personnel," and bans instruction on "gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality" in kindergarten through fourth grade, "increases accessibility to what's being taught in our schools, notifies parents of the well-being of their children, and keeps school curriculum focused on core subjects," Republican state Sen. Amy Galey, a sponsor of the bill, said in a statement after its passage.
House Bill 808 bans medical professionals from performing surgical gender transition procedures, prescribing puberty-blocking drugs, and providing hormone treatments for those under the age of 18.
The Human Rights Campaign slammed Republicans for overriding Cooper's vetoes.
"Once again, the North Carolina General Assembly has prioritized anti-transgender discrimination over the well-being of North Carolina," the organization said.
"Governor Cooper did the right thing by vetoing these hateful bills designed to rile up hate against LGBTQ+ people, but legislators are sending a clear message that North Carolina is not a safe place for us. We will not stop fighting these discriminatory measures."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.