RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Governor Roy Cooper (D) vetoed three bills on Wednesday aiming to prohibit gender reassignment surgery for minors, limiting transgender athletes in youth sports and notifying parents if a student changes their pronouns.
After vetoing the bills, Cooper released the following statement:
For campaign purposes only, Republicans are serving up a triple threat of political culture wars using government to invade the rights and responsibilities of parents and doctors, hurting vulnerable children and damaging our state’s reputation and economy like they did with the harmful bathroom bill. Instead of scheming for the next election, Republicans should get to work investing in our public schools and teachers, lowering the cost of living and creating more stability for middle class families.
Gov. Roy Cooper
House Bill 574, also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, would have banned transgender athletes who identify as female from competing in girls’ sports.
Cooper made the following statement on his veto of HB 574:
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 parents, schools and sports organizations. Republican governors in other states have vetoed similar bills because they hurt their states’ reputation and economy and because they are neither fair nor needed.
Gov. Roy Cooper
Senate Bill 49 would have required teachers to notify parents of their child’s pronoun changes. The bill also would have prevented the instruction of gender identity and sexuality for students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Gov. Cooper released the following statement on his veto:
Parents are the most essential educators for their children and their involvement must be encouraged, but this bill will scare teachers into silence by injecting fear and uncertainty into classrooms. This “Don’t Say Gay” bill also hampers the important and sometimes lifesaving role of educators as trusted advisers when students have nowhere else to turn. The rights of parents are well established in state law, so instead of burdening schools with their political culture wars, legislators should help them with better teacher pay and more investments in students.
Gov. Roy Cooper
House Bill 808 would have banned gender reassignment surgery for minors. The bill would have required minors to receive permission from their parents before undergoing surgery.
Gov. Cooper released the following statement on his veto:
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. Ordering doctors to stop following approved medical protocols sets a troubling precedent and is dangerous for vulnerable youth and their mental health. The government should not make itself both the parent and the doctor.
Gov. Roy Cooper
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
