By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – On June 1, 26 Louisiana lawmakers rallied on the Senate floor to resurrect HB 648, the “Stop Harming Our Kids Act,” by Rep. Gabe Firment, a deacon with First Baptist Church, Pollock. The bill protects underage children (who are not capable of giving informed consent) against irreversible chemical and surgical transgender procedures.
The special legislative procedure was necessary after Gov. John Bel Edwards, according to NOLA.com, “whipped members of the [Senate] Health and Welfare Committee to vote against the bill [5-4] in the hours before the hearing,” on May 24.
BACKGROUND
Before the May 24 interference by the governor, HB 648 had sailed through the legislative process on the House side with overwhelming support.
After the special Senate action on June 1, HB 648 was recalled from the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, essentially discharging them of responsibility for the bill, and then recommitted, or transferred, to the Senate Committee on Judiciary A for another hearing. On June 2, Judiciary A voted to favorably report HB 648, without objections from the four members who were present (three Democrats boycotted the vote), back to the full Senate to be considered for final passage during the last few days of the legislative session.
EARLY VICTORIES
HB 648, the “Stop Harming Our Kids Act,” specifically prohibits “healthcare professionals from knowingly committing any of the following acts that attempt to alter a minor’s appearance in an attempt to validate a minor’s perception of his sex if the minor’s perception is inconsistent with his biological sex.” The banned procedures include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone therapy (“prescription or administration of testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone”) and sex reassignment surgeries.
Another key provision in the “Stop Harming Our Kids Act” allows children, who have been subjected to chemical or surgical transitioning, to file lawsuits against the doctors and therapists who approved or performed such procedures. Moreover, the children’s right to sue is extended until they reach the age of 30 years old.
The House Committee on Health and Welfare favorably moved the bill by a vote of 14-3 on May 4. On May 16, the full House adopted the measure 71-24 (10 absences) and sent the measure to the Senate for its committee to consider.
RALLY OF SUPPORT
Sen. Stewart Cathey, a member of the First Baptist Church, West Monroe, led the effort to resurrect the “Stop Harming Our Kids Act,” by moving, June 1, that the Senate suspend its rules “for the purpose of calling House Bill 648 from the Committee on Health and Welfare and discharging the committee, and recommitting that [bill] to the Committee on Judiciary A.”
The 26-12 (one absence) vote in support of Cathey’s motion revived the bill.
UNCERTAIN OUTCOME
The “Stop Harming Our Kids Act” appears on track for final passage by the Senate (based on the vote to recommit the bill to another committee). However, even with the supermajority, or two-thirds, votes in the House (at least 70) and Senate (at least 26), HB 648 still could be vetoed by Gov. Edwards, especially given his heavy lobbying against it. But if he does not want to face an override session to end his two-term legacy as governor, the bill could become law without him signing it.
