Rooted in a larger culture war waged by the right on racial justice and the transgender community, Idaho, Indiana and Kansas have joined other Republican-led states in passing legislation that prevents transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming health care and participating in sports.
On Wednesday, the Kansas Legislature passed a law banning transgender youth from playing on women’s and girls’ sports teams after the governor vetoed it last month.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed Wednesday SB 480, prohibiting medical physicians and practitioners from “knowingly providing gender transition procedures to an individual who is less than 18 years of age” or “aiding or abetting” another in doing so. He signed the bill despite calling it “vague” and “clear as mud” a day earlier.
“It wasn’t part of my agenda,” Holcomb said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “I’ve told some people very close to me: This is clear as mud. There’s some vagueness to it. So I want to make sure I completely understand.”
The new law will take effect in Indiana on July 1. After that, any youth currently taking gender-transitioning medications has until Dec. 31 to stop.
In a statement to HuffPost, Holcomb defended his signing of the bill, saying: “There has and will continue to be a debate within the medical community about the best ways to provide physical and mental health care for adolescents who are struggling with their own gender identity, and it is important that we recognize and understand those struggles are real. With all of that in mind, I have decided to sign SB 480 into law.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticized Indiana’s bill, calling it a civil rights violation against transgender youth.
“SB 480 is part of a coordinated campaign to drive transgender people, particularly youth, out of public life. Bills such as these violate the rights of parents and families to make decisions about their children’s health,” the ACLU said of the bill on its site.
Idaho signed its own anti-trans bill on Tuesday, with Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signing into law H71, also known as the so-called “The Vulnerable Child Protective Act.”
H71 would bar transgender people 18 years old and younger from receiving gender-affirming medication or health care, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries — with anyone violating the law being threatened with a felony charge and up to 10 years behind bars. The bill will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
“In signing this bill, I recognize our society plays a role in protecting minors from surgeries or treatments that can irreversibly damage their healthy bodies,” Little said in a letter sent to Idaho’s House speaker. “However, as policymakers, we should take great caution whenever we consider allowing the government to interfere with loving parents and their decisions about what is best for their children.”
Little’s office did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln, executive director of Add the Words, a mutual aid organization in Idaho, said in a statement Tuesday that Little’s alleged support of parents’ decisions for their children does not align with him signing H71.
“We are heartbroken for the families of Idaho today. We are watching parental rights being dismantled in the name of stigmatizing and harming our most vulnerable youth,” Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln, executive director of Add the Words, a mutual aid organization in Idaho, said in a statement Tuesday.
“The despair being felt by Idaho families is deep as we have been fielding frantic calls since HB71 was introduced and consequently passed both chambers,” she continued. “The fear in parents’ voices is real as they do not know what to tell their teens or how to provide them with hope while their elected representatives actively attempt to legislate them out of existence.”
North Dakota also pushed 10 bills containing anti-trans legislation forward on Tuesday.