Kentucky Lawmakers Override Dem Governor’s Veto of Child Sex Change Ban

The new law mandates that students use bathrooms matching their biological sex and removes discussions on gender identity in classrooms

Kentucky lawmakers have passed an extensive bill that forbids sex change procedures for minors and transgender initiatives in schools, overcoming the veto of Democratic governor Andy Beshear.

The bill, which was passed along party lines by Republicans who hold a supermajority in both houses, prohibits sex change surgeries and hormone treatments for minors. It mandates that students use bathrooms reflecting their biological sex. Teachers are allowed to avoid using preferred pronouns and it prohibits talks on gender ideology and sexual orientation in the classroom. Beshear vetoed the bill, saying he believed “Senate Bill 150 will endanger the children of Kentucky.”

Despite opposition from Democrats and trans activists, Kentucky is now the twelfth state to outlaw sex change procedures for minors. On the same day that the Kentucky legislature overrode the veto, West Virginia’s Republican governor Jim Justice enacted a similar ban on child sex change treatments in his state.

“SB 150 protects our youth from irreversible procedures,” said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R.) in a statement. “Beshear vetoed this bill because he is beholden to the far left. Today, his veto was overridden. I stand ready to defend this law and protect the well-being of our most precious resource, our children.”

Hundreds of protesters mobilized at the Kentucky Capitol as officials gathered to vote. Provocative chanting and shouting by protesters in the House gallery prompted state police to get involved, leading to 19 arrests on charges of third-degree criminal trespassing, according to Fox News. Police spokesperson Capt. Paul Blanton noted that officers gave each protester “the option… to leave without any enforcement action or to be placed under arrest.”

“I think it’s unfortunate that it reached that level and certainly [the protesters] were given… multiple opportunities to either quiet their chants or to leave voluntarily,” Republican House Speaker David Osborne stated.

“The goal of SB 150 is to strengthen parental engagement and communication in their children’s education,” stated state Senator Mike Wise (R.), the bill’s sponsor, last week. “This bill reinforces a positive atmosphere in the classroom and removes unnecessary distractions, like woke ideology, and mandating the use of specific pronouns in our schools… I look forward to… protecting children from the irreparable harm of gender transition surgeries by making SB 150 law.”