(ProsperNews.net) – Kansas lawmakers failed to reverse the Governor’s veto on a transgender surgery bill because two Republicans changed their minds. The bill, which intended to ban puberty blocker distribution to children, as well as gender-based surgeries on minors, was vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly in April. While attempts to override that veto passed through the Senate by 27 votes to 13, it fell in the House by 82 to 43 – two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed.
Two Republicans, who had previously backed the bill, refused to vote in favor of the veto, having been persuaded that a provision barring state employees from advocating social transitioning was unwarranted and vague.
Governor Kelly celebrated the result and called the bill “divisive.” She said it removed the right of families to make their own choices and had “no place in Kansas.” Micah Kubic of the American Civil Liberties Union said that blocking the bill’s enactment was a “victory for transgender kids.”
Topeka Republican Rep. Jesse Borjon explained his refusal to override the veto and said that while he opposes transgender surgeries on minors, the legislation went too far by regulating and restricting mental health care for Kansas children.
Sen. Mark Steffen, however, voted to override the veto and blamed a “woke” healthcare system for pressuring children into life-altering surgeries and medical procedures. “Today, I voted to protect our children from being mutilated,” he said.
Similarly, Rep. Brenda Landwehr of Wichita argued that children, and often parents, don’t understand the implications of gender-based medical interventions. She said people accept that children cannot vote or engage in other adult-only activities and yet consider it ok for kids to choose to surgically alter their bodies.
If passed into law, the legislation would have allowed individuals to file lawsuits against medical professionals for distributing hormones or puberty blockers to children and would have held them liable for any harm caused. It would also have prevented state employees from encouraging transition.
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