Well at least the ban on drag shows failed. For now.
A GOP led Kentucky House committee advanced a bill last minute that stuffed an anti-trans/drag bill into another hateful piece of legislation, the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” or “parental rights” bill.
Senate Bill 150, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, which The bill requires school districts to form bathroom policies based on biological sex, limits the discussion of LGBT issues in K-12 sexual education classes and blocks a Kentucky Department of Education recommendation that teachers refer to children by their preferred pronouns, was quickly brought up on the last day before the veto period and passed 16-5. Then HB 470 elements, like banning gender-affirming care to anyone under age 18.was added to it, It then quickly went to the full House where after two hours of debate, it passed 75-22.
The final Senate vote was 30-7. When the bill passed, people in the gallery yelled at legislators and were removed. “Jesus was wearing drag,” one said. Another cried: “You’re all murderers.”
After Thursday’s vote Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said “the genesis of this measure springs from a national agenda of fearmongering.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky quickly condemned SB150 as the “worst anti-trans/Don’t Say Gay bill in the nation.”
“This dangerous bill and others like it across the country are nothing more than a desperate attempt to score political points by targeting people who simply want to live their lives,” Amber Duke, interim executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a statement. “True democracy requires meaningful and informed debate and engagement from the public. The shameful process on display in the Kentucky House undermines the public trust in government.”
Gov. Andy Beshear addressed HB 470 during his regular Thursday Team Kentucky update. He said, “All decisions for transgender children should be made by the families, not big government. And these bills harm children, lead to suicide, and we should not be doing this right now out of respect for Karen Berg and her loss.”
The veto period begins on Friday and lasts 10 days.
The GOP controlled Sate House has enough votes to override Beshear’s VETO.