Kane Republican

Veto puts Kentucky IN THICK OF FIGHT OVER TRANSGENDE­R RIGHTS

- By Bruce Schreiner

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a bill aimed at transgende­r health care puts the state in the middle of a national fight, but with more immediate consequenc­es as the state's looming election offers an early test on the state-by-state assault on gender-affirming care for minors.

The veto issued Friday set off competing messages likely to be repeated until the November election — when Bluegrass State voters will decide whether to reward the Democratic governor with a second term or hand over the governor's office to a Republican. No one seems to know yet how much weight voters will put on the transgende­r issue with the general election more than seven months away.

The legislatio­n in Kentucky is part of a widespread movement, with Republican state lawmakers in other states approving extensive measures that restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people this year, from bills targeting trans athletes and drag performers to measures limiting gender-affirming care.

Beshear framed the Republican-backed bill in Kentucky as an example of government overreach into parental rights. The sweeping bill would ban gender-affirming care for minors — one of many provisions that would affect the lives of young transgende­r people.

“At the end of the day, this is about my belief — and, I think, the belief of the majority of Kentuckian­s — that parents should get to make important medical decisions about their children, not big government," Beshear told reporters soon after his veto.

Kentucky's GOP-dominated legislatur­e passed the bill by lopsided margins. Lawmakers will reconvene Wednesday for the final two days of this year's session, when they could vote to override the veto.

Republican­s took immediate aim at the governor's veto, saying he veered too far for most Kentuckian­s. Republican Party of Kentucky spokespers­on Sean Southard asked: “Is Andy Beshear the governor of Kentucky or California?” He predicted the governor will pay a political price for his action.

"Once this campaign is over, today may very well be remembered as the day Andy Beshear lost his bid for reelection,” Southard said Friday.

Republican­s could try to capitalize on the political divide over transgende­r rights to motivate socially conservati­ve voters to flock to the polls in November, when state constituti­onal offices are on the ballot. Several leading GOP contenders for governor were aligned in condemning Beshear's veto.

“If the Republican­s choose to make this a centerpiec­e of the campaign against Beshear, it's going to hurt him,” said Scott Jennings, a Kentucky-based Republican political commentato­r.

Beshear cited his own religious faith as a factor in rejecting the bill, saying: “I believe every single child is a child of God.”

Twelve candidates in all are competing for the Republican nomination for governor in the state's May primary. Beshear's bid for a second term is drawing national attention to see if the popular incumbent can win again in the Republican- trending state. Beshear has won praise for his responses to devastatin­g tornadoes and flooding, as well as a series of economic developmen­t successes.

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