Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, setting up a showdown with Republican state lawmakers.
Kelly said in a statement Friday that the measure “tramples parental rights,” adding that “the last place I would want to be as a politician is between a parent and a child who needed medical care of any kind.”
“This divisive legislation targets a small group of Kansans by placing government mandates on them and dictating to parents how to best raise and care for their children,” Kelly said in the statement. “I do not believe that is a conservative value, and it’s certainly not a Kansas value.”
The measure now heads back to the state Legislature, where the GOP majority likely has enough votes to override the governor’s block. Lawmakers are set to return for a veto session on April 29.
The governor vetoed a similar bill last year that targeted physicians who provide some gender-affirming care to minors but unlike then, there appears to be enough support in the state Legislature to override Friday’s veto. The state Senate passed the bill late last month with a veto-proof majority while the House, which had multiple absences, was two votes shy. Two absent Republican state representatives previously voted in favor of the legislation.
Kansas Democrats have slammed the bill as an infringement on the rights of transgender people while state Republicans contend that it is a measure to protect kids – arguments that align with how both parties nationally have tackled the hot-button issue. With the bill through the Legislature, Kansas has joined at least 20 states that have moved to curb gender-affirming care for minors as transgender rights have become a marquee issue for the Republican Party.
The measure would ban…
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