Bills Targeting Trans Youth Vetoed By North Carolina Governor
statement announcing his veto of the bills, Cooper accused Republicans of “scheming for the next election” by “hurting vulnerable children” and pushing “political culture wars.”He likened the measures to the state’s infamous HB 2 “bathroom bill” restricting transgender access to certain public multi-user facilities, which passed in 2016 and led to a large-scale economic backlash against the state.“A doctor’s office is no place for politicians, and North Carolina should continue to let parents and medical professionals make decisions about the best way to offer gender care for their children,” Cooper said of the restrictions on gender-affirming care, which prohibit rarely-recommended surgical procedures, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers, as well as mental health therapy that affirms a trans-identifying youth’s gender identity.“Ordering doctors to stop following approved medical protocols sets a troubling precedent and is dangerous for vulnerable youth and their mental health,” Cooper added. “The government should not make itself both the parent and the doctor.”Regarding the ban on transgender athletes, Cooper expressed concerns that the bill would send a message to corporate America that the state is overly hostile to the LGBTQ community, pointing to vetoes of similar bills by Republican governors in North Dakota, Indiana, and Utah.He also argued that localities and local governing bodies of sports already have policies determining athlete eligibility in place, eliminating the need for the proposed law.“We don’t need politicians inflaming their political culture wars by making broad, uninformed decisions about an extremely small number of vulnerable children that are already handled by a robust system that relies on.
