Representative Wes Allen, sponsor of the House Version bill, speaks during the State of Alabama debate in Montgomery on Thursday.
Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser via AP
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Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser via AP
Representative Wes Allen, sponsor of the House Version bill, speaks during the State of Alabama debate in Montgomery on Thursday.
Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser via AP
MONTGOMERY, Ala. Alabama lawmakers passed sweeping legislation on Thursday to ban sex-affirming drugs for transgender children and introduce a separate measure banning early classroom instruction about gender identity and sexuality , a bill that critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”.
The Alabama House of Representatives voted 66-28 to make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to prescribe puberty-blocking drugs or hormones or perform surgery to assist with puberty. gender transition of people under the age of 19. The bill has now been given to Republican Governor Kay Ivey for her to sign as Alabama becomes the latest red state to push for legislation and policies aimed at transgender youth. Ivey has not said whether she signed it or not.
The topic of transgender and LGBTQ identity has become one of the GOP’s “tasters” to secure votes because they are popular with the party’s base.
Representative Neil Rafferty speaks during the debate over transgender bills in the Alabama House boardroom on Thursday.
Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser via AP
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Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser via AP
Representative Neil Rafferty speaks during the debate over transgender bills in the Alabama House boardroom on Thursday.
Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser via AP
Representative Neil Rafferty, the only openly gay member of the Alabama Legislature, struggled to contain his anger and maintain his composure as lawmakers moved to vote.
“This is wrong,” Rafferty said. “You all sit there and campaign for the family as the foundation of our nation … but what this bill is doing is completely undermining that. It completely erodes rights. of the family, the right to health, and the right to access health care.”
Republican Representative Wes Allen of Troy, the sponsor of the House bill, argued during Thursday morning’s debate that transgender youths are not old enough to make decisions about taking gender-affirming drugs. count.
“Their brains weren’t developed to make long-term decisions about the effects of these drugs and surgeries on their bodies,” says Allen.
Representative Chris England, who holds the position of Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, said the measure targets already vulnerable children and essentially tells them they are not welcome in Alabama.
“You’re saying this is about children. It’s not. What it’s saying is scoring political points and using those kids as collateral for damage,” England said.
The bill would also require school counselors, nurses and others to tell parents if a child discloses that they believe they are transgender.
An Ivey spokesman did not immediately respond to a text message asking if the governor would sign off on the measure.
“I want the governor to know that she doesn’t have to sign this, she can veto it,” Jeff Walker, whose 15-year-old daughter, Harleigh, is transgender, said Thursday afternoon. “All you’re doing is hurting Alabama families with these bills.”
Arkansas passed a similar law in 2021, but it was adjourned by the courts. Advocacy groups in Alabama have vowed to quickly challenge the measure if Ivey signs it into law.
In a written statement, Chase Strangio, deputy director of Trans Justice with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, called the Alabama measure “the most murderous, far-reaching, and hateful law targeting transgender people in the country.”
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday that the US Justice Department has warned states such laws and policies may violate the Constitution and federal law.
“Today’s vote in Alabama will only harm children,” she said.
The Alabama Senate enacted separate legislation Thursday related to public school bathrooms and discussions about gender and sexual identity in the early grades.
Senators voted May 26 to pass legislation that would require K-12 students to use only public bathrooms and locker rooms that match the gender on their original birth certificate, instead of their current gender identity.
Senate Republicans also added language similar to the Florida law that critics call “Don’t say gay” measure.
Alabama language will “prohibit classroom instruction or discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity” for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Alabama’s proposal goes beyond Florida’s law, including grades K-3.
