CV NEWS FEED // The Louisiana State legislature has passed HB648, a bill that, if enacted, will criminalize sexual surgeries on children in the state.
The legislation heads next to the desk of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who has not indicated whether he plans to sign it into law. Due to the overwhelming margins by which the bill passed, however, this is effectively a formality and a symbolic gesture. Even if Edwards decides to veto HB648, there is sufficient support for it in both houses to override the veto.
On Monday, the state Senate confirmed the bill 29-10, and on Tuesday it passed the state House by a 3-1 margin of 75-25 – both veto-proof majorities.
Three Democratic Senators voted for the bill: Gary Smith, Jr., Gregory Tarver, and Katrina Jackson, who is also vocally pro-life. Seven Democrats in the House voted for the bill: Ken Brass, Chad Brown, Robby Carter, Mack Cormier, Kenny Cox, Cedric Glover, and Travis Johnson. No Republicans in the House opposed the measure.
One Republican senator, Fred Mills, voted against HB648. Mills, a self-professed Catholic, has been criticized by prominent conservatives such as The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh for voting to kill the bill in committee in May. Mills argued that the bill was unnecessary because he “didn’t see…that children are getting mutilated.”
Despite “trans” activists prematurely celebrating a “win,” the bill was eventually revived earlier this month.
State Representative Gabe Firment, R-LA, who sponsored the legislation, stated:
We are one step closer to protecting children in Louisiana from experimental chemical and surgical sex change procedures…the people of Louisiana have made it clear that our children are worth fighting for.
Firment called on Edwards to sign HB648:
It is my sincere hope that Governor Edwards will allow this bill to become law, ensuring that Louisiana children receive compassionate mental health care and a future filled with hope, happiness, and opportunity.
>> 7 STATES THAT BANNED SO-CALLED ‘GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE’ FOR MINORS <<
Edwards, who is term-limited and is scheduled to leave office early next year, is a practicing Catholic. A relative social conservative compared to the rest of his party, he is the only pro-life Democratic governor in the country.
During his 2019 bid for re-election, Edwards cited his Catholic faith when he promised to pursue a pro-life agenda in his second term.
In June 2022, he delivered on this promise by signing a pro-life law that provided no exceptions for rape or incest.
However, this year Edwards backtracked and now advocates adding these exceptions. In May, he remarked, “I simply do not understand how we as a state can tell any victim that she must be forced by law to carry her rapist’s baby to term, regardless of the impact on her own physical or mental health, the wishes of her parents, or the medical judgment of her physician.”
Louisiana is currently the last remaining state bordering the Gulf of Mexico that has not yet passed laws protecting minors from genital and breast mutilation procedures.
>> 7 MORE STATES THAT BANNED SO-CALLED GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR MINORS <<
