GOP Arkansas Governor Vetoes Anti-Trans Youth Bill

Little Rock’s ABC News affiliate reports:

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he vetoed a bill that would ban gender confirming hormone treatment for trans youths. Hutchinson called the bill “well-intended but off course” and said it was “overbroad.”

“We are creating new standards of legislating interference for physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people,” the Republican governor said in a news conference.

The Republican-majority legislature can override Hutchinson’s veto with a majority vote. Hutchinson said he expects that to happen but urged lawmakers to come up with a “more restrained approach” to address the issue.

Read the full article. Similar bills have been approved in multiple states in recent weeks. Expect Hutchinson to get the same vicious blowback given South Dakota’s Kristi Noem, who has since issued anti-trans executive orders that failed to stem abuse from the Christian right.

BREAKING: The governor of Arkansas just vetoed HB 1570, an extreme ban on health care for trans youth.

This victory belongs to trans youth in Arkansas, and the parents and doctors that have come together to speak up.

— ACLU (@ACLU) April 5, 2021

BREAKING: Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces he has VETOED anti-trans bill HB 1570. pic.twitter.com/hyX7hNFTFu

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) April 5, 2021