BACK FROM THE DEAD

Kentucky GOP Resurrects, Passes Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth

The Republican-led legislature resurrected a version of the proposal after it was assumed to be dead, sending it to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk.

Kentucky’s Republican-led legislature on Thursday rammed through a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, sending it to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk before a deadline that would have stripped it of the power to override his expected veto. The fast-tracked bill, which seemed all but dead Wednesday night before bouncing out of committee to passage in both chambers within hours Thursday, is a version of a different House bill that struggled and stalled out in the Senate earlier this week. In addition to outlawing gender-affirming treatment for minors, the updated legislation allows educators to misgender their students, requires school districts to form bathroom policies based on biological sex, and restricts the discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in classrooms. “This is absolutely willful hate for a small group of people that are the weakest and most vulnerable,” said state Sen. Karen Berg (D). As it passed in the Senate, people sitting in the gallery responded with outrage, with cries of “murderer,” “you’re all pieces of shit,” and “your god will not forgive you” ringing through the chamber.