By Minh Ha, Verite | NEW ORLEANS, La. – Transgender public school students are caught in the middle of a legal battle between the state of Louisiana and the federal government, and schools have no clear answers on how to proceed.

Last week, Gov. Jeff Landry announced that Louisiana — along with Mississippi, Montana and Idaho — filed suit against the federal government over newly issued rules under Title IX, a 1972 law prohibiting gender discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding, including public K-12 schools in the state.

The new guidelines, released by the U.S. Department of Education last month, expand the definition of prohibited sex discrimination to apply to “sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” Failing to comply risks losing billions of dollars in federal funding that goes to schools around the state.

The lawsuit focuses on the requirements around gender identity. The state argues that the rule is an overreach of Title IX authority. The law, the state argues, was intended to prohibit discrimination based on biological sex alone.

“The consequences will be shocking and severe,” lawyers for the states, among them Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, wrote in the April 29 complaint. “Boys and girls will be forced to share bathrooms, locker rooms, and perhaps even lodging on overnight field trips with members of the opposite sex. Adding insult to injury, they will be forced to use ‘preferred pronouns’ or else face punishment, which raises distinct Free Speech and Free Exercise problems.”

The rules, set to take effect Aug. 1, have faced backlash from other Louisiana state leaders, who have called the move an attack on women’s rights. In a letter sent out to school leaders April 22, state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said that the changes could contradict state law and urged schools not to follow the federal guidelines.

“The Title IX rule changes recklessly endanger students and seek to dismantle equal opportunities for females,” Brumley said in the letter.

Late last week, 17 parish school boards — including Bossier, Caddo and St. Tammany parishes, among the largest districts in the state — joined the state in its lawsuit against the Biden administration.

The revisions come during a time when Louisiana lawmakers are making a concerted effort to erode LGBTQ+ rights, with bills under consideration that would prohibit school employees from addressing students by their preferred pronouns, outlaw the discussion of sexual orientation in schools and segregate bathrooms and locker rooms based on sex assigned at birth.

Louisiana has about 4,000 students in the 13-17 age group identifying as trans, according to a 2022 report. In New Orleans, the largest and most politically left-leaning city in the state, school district leaders have not taken a stance on the issue.

Orleans Parish School Board President Katherine Baudouin declined to comment, citing a lack of information, while a spokesperson for the NOLA Public Schools district said these “complex issues are being reviewed.”

The school board previously took a stand on a related issue. In 2022, the board adopted a resolution denouncing anti-trans legislation moving through the state Legislature.

The Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools, which 14 charter schools are a member of, said it is reviewing statements by federal and state authorities regarding the new Title IX requirements. Member schools, which include The Willow School and Warren Easton High School, all currently have similar non-discrimination policies with wording in compliance with the requirements of their respective public authorizers, like the NOLA Public Schools district, Jefferson Parish School Board and the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“It is our policy to refrain from commenting on current or imminent litigation,” a spokesperson for the collaborative said in an email to Verite News. “We will continue to monitor this situation as we prepare for next school year.”

‘It is heart-wrenching to watch us die’

Lux Matt, a sophomore at New Harmony High School in New Orleans who identifies as trans and nonbinary, is still mourning the death of Nex Benedict, a trans high schooler who died after being bullied at school in Oklahoma earlier this year. Medical examiners have ruled the death a suicide.

Matt was in the process of receiving gender-affirming care when a statewide ban on gender-affirming care for minors took effect in January.

“People underestimate how much this affects us,” Matt said. “We grieve every single trans person that is murdered, whether they are 45 years old or 15. It is heart-wrenching to watch us die.”

Surveys have consistently shown that LGBTQ+ youth have high rates of suicidal thoughts, with transgender youth at particularly high risk. A 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey also shows that trans and queer high schoolers were almost twice as likely to face bullying compared to their straight peers. In Louisiana, LGBTQ+ students reported in 2019 hearing anti-LGBTQ remarks regularly in school.

Matt said respecting trans kids’ names and pronouns at school helps prevent suicides. Since late 2021, they have been advocating for their and other queer and trans youths’ rights through advocacy work via Trans Queer Youth NOLA.

Matt said they have been in conversations with school leaders to keep their school safe and inclusive. For example, the school might work to allow students to use nicknames in school even if the state passes House Bill 121.

The bill, which passed the state House last month and is now in the Senate, would require school employees to refer to students by the names listed on their birth certificates (known as “deadnaming”) and pronouns that align with the gender they were assigned at birth, regardless of their gender identities, unless their parents give permission to do otherwise.

The school also doesn’t have a dress code or uniform, which Matt said allows trans students to express themselves freely.

English teacher Rebecca Cavalier sponsors the gay-straight alliance at Benjamin Franklin, which she said is one of few organizations of its kind in the city. Cavalier said Ben Franklin is committed to making sure LGBTQ+ students have a safe space on campus.

“Unfortunately, schools have become these political war zones where people from the right want to control what’s going on in the classroom,” she said. “It does create a feeling of fear, and I think that’s what’s going to do the most damage. Even teachers who are allies are going to take out queer representation in their libraries because they’re afraid.”

This year, her team has carried out protests, organized email campaigns to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and even put on a play about growing up queer in Louisiana at the state capitol, she said. With support from local advocacy groups, the school also built a queer library and a gender-affirming clothing closet at the school, she added.

“My administration probably won’t want to fully break the law, but we’ll do whatever we can to make kids feel safe,” she said. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen at other schools, which is sad. Kids are gonna feel very isolated.”

Cavalier said she’s worried the club might be seen as running afoul of yet another proposed state law next year. House Bill 122, which passed the State House last month and is awaiting debate in the Senate, would prohibit the discussion of sexual orientation in public schools, including during extracurricular activities.

But Cavalier said the group plans to hold meetings outside of school and partner with the Pride Center and other groups to avoid breaking the law. The gay-straight alliance is also putting together a working group to find loopholes in the law, Cavalier said.

“It’s hard to keep fighting because it just felt so hopeless this year, but we can’t make it easy for them,” she said.

A chilling effect

A’Niya Robinson, an advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Louisiana, said conflicting messages regarding Title IX from the federal and state levels had caused confusion among students, parents and educators statewide.

“There are a lot of different layers: there’s local law, there state law, there’s federal law,” she said. “There are folks who are knowingly injecting more confusion by filing baseless lawsuits — it really creates this chilling effect. I can easily see situations where teachers and students may be afraid to exercise their rights because they don’t exactly know what’s outlawed and what’s not.”

The ban on gender-affirming care that took effect this year forced New Orleans Center for Creative Arts sophomore Nicholas Lavender and his family to visit Rhode Island in March to access gender-affirming care. His parents, Beth Rosch and Will Lavender, said the family will return in August to take care of his medical needs.

“I’m grateful that this expansion has happened at the federal level because it’s keeping up with our continuing understanding and knowledge of what sexual identity is,” Rosch said, adding that she was frustrated with the state Legislature. “It’s an integral part of a person. It’s not a costume you put on to get into the other gender’s locker room.”

Will Lavender said he hopes school administrators will be vocal and take a stance to protect trans kids as the lawsuit progresses.

Rosch said it’s important for schools and teachers to provide all students with an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

“Children spend the majority of their waking hours at school, and that’s an enormous part of their social experience,” she said. “Just the cultural damage of these poor kids and adults [by] being told, ‘You’re not, you’re not real, you’re not true, you’re not a regular human being, you’re flawed, you’re imagining your own identity’ — that’s incredible psychological damage.”

Will Lavender said the attacks on queer and trans rights from the Statehouse have made the family feel unwelcome in Louisiana. But he hopes the NOLA Public Schools district would protect queer and trans students.

“All trans kids just want to be their normal, regular selves,” he said. “I would like to have faith that [the NOLA Public Schools district] will do the right thing, and hopefully not be afraid to get [its] hands dirty to support the kids of our city, all of them.”

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Minh (Nate) Ha is a recent magna cum laude graduate from American University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism. Originally from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Ha has spent the past four years in Washington, D.C. His reporting includes stories about how second-generation Vietnamese Americans fought to protect their community center in Virginia amidst redevelopment plans and the construction and delays of the Washington, D.C. metro.

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The preceding article was previously published by The Louisiana Illuminator and is republished with permission.

This article first appeared on Verite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on how decisions in Baton Rouge are made and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians. Our in-depth investigations and news stories, news briefs and commentary help residents make sense of how state policies help or hurt them and their neighbors statewide.

We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

BATON ROUGE, La. – In a letter sent out Monday to all Louisiana school districts, state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley warned that administrators should not comply with new federal rules that extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students.

The Biden-Harris administration’s revised final rule of Title IX policy protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and other abuse was issued by the U.S. Department of Education last Friday.

While the new rule does not provide guidance on whether schools must allow transgender students to play on sports teams corresponding with their gender identity to comply with Title IX, the question is addressed in a separate rule proposed by the agency in April.

In his letter, reported by NOLA.com/The Advocate, Brumley said the federal rules, which take effect Aug. 1, would force schools to allow transgender girls to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms. He also said the rules would compel teachers to call students by their preferred names and pronouns — a requirement that would appear to conflict with a bill in the Louisiana Legislature to protect teachers who refuse to refer to students by pronouns that don’t match their sex assigned at birth.

Lambda Legal praises Biden admin’s finalized Title IX regulations

Brumley said he believes the rules would also conflict would a 2022 state law that bans transgender girls and women from participating on female sports teams at the K-12 school or college level, NOLA.com/The Advocate reported.

“The Title IX rule changes recklessly endanger students and seek to dismantle equal opportunities for females,” he wrote in the April 22 letter.

Restating his “staunch opposition” to the federal rules, Brumley said “it remains my position that schools should not alter policies or procedures at this time.”

Jennifer Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, said during a call with reporters Thursday that the administration sought to strike a balance with respect to these issues, “reaffirming our longstanding commitment to fundamental fairness.”

By Piper Hutchinson | BATON ROUGUE, La. – As severe weather shut down nearly every government entity in Louisiana Wednesday, a legislative committee met and quietly advanced two pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. 

The Louisiana House Committee on Education advanced House Bill 121 by Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, which prohibits the use of transgender and nonbinary youth’s chosen names and pronouns in public K-12 schools without parental permission, along a party line 9-3 vote. 

House Bill 122 by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haugton, which limits discussion of gender and sexuality in public K-12 schools, also advanced on a 9-3 vote, with Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, joining Democrats in opposing the bill.   

The Legislature approved both bills last year. Then-Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, vetoed them, and Republicans were unable to overturn his action. A representative for Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, filed a card in support of both Crews’ and Horton’s bills. 

Committee hearings on the same bills in previous years stretched on for hours with extensive public testimony, primarily from LGBTQ+ youth, but Wednesday’s hearing moved at an unusually fast clip, with many advocates stuck at home. 

The committee was scheduled to meet at noon, an hour before a tornado watch expired for Baton Rouge. Tornadoes had touched down in Slidell and Lake Charles in the morning, and flooding and storm debris blocked roads across the state. 

Just four people testified against the bills Wednesday. By comparison, more than 40 people testified against the same bills in 2023, and over 300 more filed cards in opposition but did not speak. 

The Louisiana Senate decided late Tuesday afternoon to cancel its committee meetings the next day to avoid the hazardous weather. Senators aren’t scheduled to return to the Capitol until Monday.

The House of Representatives canceled all but two of its six scheduled committee meetings, In addition to Education, the House and Governmental Affairs Committee also met at noon to discuss several election-related bills  

Advocates with Forum For Equality, an LGBTQ+ rights organization, called on House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, to cancel the two committee hearings.

Crews’ bill would require teachers and other school personnel to use a student’s given name and pronouns that align with their birth sex unless a student has permission from their parents to use their chosen name. 

Teachers would be allowed to disregard a parent’s choice to respect their transgender or nonbinary child’s preferred name and pronouns if they have religious opposition to doing so. 

Freiberg noted this double standard during the hearing, pointing out the bill was touted as a parental rights bill but allowed a parent’s choice to be invalidated. 

In an interview after the hearing, Crews said that while his bill supports parental rights, parents should not be able to eclipse somebody else’s religious rights. 

His bill does not have an exception for those who have a religious opposition to deadnaming or misgendering students. 

Deadnaming is when someone uses a transgender or nonbinary individual’s birth name, or “dead name,” against their wishes. Misgendering occurs when someone refers to an individual as a gender that they do not identify. 

At the core of Crews’ proposal is his belief that parents have the right to know whether their children are transgender. Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community say the bill would force transgender youth to out themselves to their parents or else be deadnamed and misgendered at school. They have raised concerns about what happens when parents find out — and don’t approve.

A survey from the Trevor Project found 38% of transgender women, 39% of transgender men and 35% of nonbinary youth have experienced homelessness as a result of parental rejection. 

Horton’s bill is similar to a Florida law referred to by critics as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Her proposal is much broader and would apply to K-12 grades, whereas Florida’s law applies only to early grade students. 

Florida recently settled a lawsuit over the law filed by civil rights activists. As part of the agreement, students and teachers are permitted to discuss gender and sexuality as long as  it is not part of classroom instruction. 

Horton’s bill would not just apply to classroom instruction. It also prohibits “covering the topics of sexual orientation or gender identity” during any extracurricular and athletics events, meaning it could potentially hinder student chapters of the Gay-Straight Alliance and other LGBTQ+ student organizations. 

Horton said she didn’t believe teachers should discuss their “lifestyle choices” with students and made reference to a Caddo Parish teacher who she said bragged about confusing children with their sexual orientation. 

As written, the bill would also prevent discussion of heterosexuality and the cisgender identity. 

The bills will next be discussed by the full House of Representatives. 

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Piper Hutchinson is a reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator. She has covered the Legislature and state government extensively for the LSU Manship News Service and The Reveille, where she was named editor in chief for summer 2022.

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The preceding piece was previously published by the Louisiana Illuminator and is republished by permission.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence.

Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Five transgender Louisiana youth and their families sued a Louisiana state agency on Monday to stop the harm caused by the recently enacted “Health Care Ban” (HB 648), now Act 466, which prohibits the provision of necessary gender-affirming medical care only for minors who are transgender and punishes health care providers for providing such care in Louisiana.  

The law took effect last week on Jan. 1, after the state legislature overrode a veto by former Gov. John Bel Edwards last July. The lawsuit claims the Health Care Ban is unconstitutional under the Louisiana state constitution and that it violates the rights of transgender adolescents and their parents to dignity and equal protection under the law.  

According to the lawsuit, the Health Care Ban: 

• Strips parents of their right to direct the health care of their children, including the right to decide, along with qualified health care providers, the best medical treatment for their child; 
• Violates the Louisiana Constitution by unlawfully interfering with the minors’ fundamental right to obtain or reject medical treatment, with the support of their parents and advice of their medical providers; and 
• Violates the Louisiana Constitution’s guarantee to equal protection of the laws by discriminating based on sex and transgender status. 

The lawsuit, Soe, et al. v. The Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners, et al. was filed in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, a state court in Louisiana which has jurisdiction over claims filed under the Louisiana Constitution. 

The Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives voted to override Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of Act 466, the Health Care Ban, on July 18, 2023. Two other vetoes – of the “Don’t Say LGBTQ+” bill and the Pronoun Restriction bill – survived override votes. Act 466 went into effect on January 1, 2024.  

“The Health Care Ban is so upsetting,” plaintiff Max Moe said. “Growing up, I was intensely self-conscious of my body, which led to a near-constant state of discomfort. Oftentimes I was incredibly uncomfortable and anxious and even found it hard to talk. However, being able to access gender-affirming hormones and be my true self has been a lifesaver. I am now far more comfortable and confident and feel less distress. This health care has allowed me to be happy, healthy, and my true authentic self – the boy I know I am. I am terrified of what the Health Care Ban will do and worry about how my mental health might deteriorate.” 

In addition to Max, the plaintiffs suing the state include fellow minors Susie Soe, Daniel Doe, Nia Noe, and Grant Goe, ages 9 to 16, as well as their respective parents and guardians, all identified pseudonymously, who reside throughout the state from Orleans to Terrebonne to Livingston. 

“This Health Care Ban only stands to harm Louisiana’s trans youth and their families,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Counsel and Health Care Strategist for Lambda Legal. “The transgender young people we represent, along with hundreds of other minors in the state, are at risk of losing necessary, life-saving medical care just because Louisiana has singled them out for discriminatory treatment. Louisiana has prohibited this medical care only for minors who are transgender, despite it being evidence-based, safe, and effective, and being supported by all major medical organizations. Denying medical care to youth just because they are transgender is both unlawful and inhumane – especially when the same treatments remain available to all other minors. The Health Care Ban represents broad government overreach into the relationship between parents, their children, and their health care providers.” 

Related:

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — While Jake and Tom Kleinmahon are busy settling-in to their new home in the suburbs of New York City — no easy task when you’re raising two children — Jake is also busy telling the story of why they moved here, more than 1,300 miles from New Orleans. 

Dr. Kleinmahon, one of three pediatric cardiologists in Louisiana, first shared that story on Instagram in July, about why they were leaving. It was not only because he accepted a new job in Queens, N.Y. 

“This is a wonderful new opportunity, but it is incredibly sad to leave our home, our friends, colleagues, and patients and their families,” he wrote on Instagram. “Our children come first. We cannot continue to raise them in this environment.”

The environment is what was created by anti-LGBTQ hate legislation in Louisiana, which the surgeon wrote is what drove the Kleinmahons from their beloved home in New Orleans. Now, he’s telling that story to reporters at TV stations, CNN and People magazine. 

As CNN reported, Kleinmahon is a graduate of Tulane University’s medical school, and after leaving the state to complete his fellowships, he said he felt compelled to return, five years ago.

“At the time there was only one heart transplant doctor in the state of Louisiana,” he said. “I believe the kids in Louisiana should have the same world class health care as any other part of the United States.” Before his return, hospitals often sent children out of state for the lifesaving care he provided. 

As the new director of the pediatric heart transplant program at a local children’s hospital, Kleinmahon started building a life with his husband in New Orleans, and raising a family. Peeling crawfish, celebrating Mardi Gras and going to Saints games was just a part of it; so was making friends and getting involved in community groups.

But this year, Kleinmahon told CNN he started having difficult conversations with his family about leaving the home they love. When he explained to his six-year-old daughter that their family had no choice but to leave New Orleans, she said, “We do have a choice, just one of them isn’t a good one.”

In Louisiana, where the governor is a Democrat but the legislature is dominated by Republicans, the legislature proposed bans on transgender student-athletes, an education bill restricting both students and teachers from discussing orientation and identity, and a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans and nonbinary youth. 

Kleinmahon lobbied against the bills, calling state lawmakers and writing letters to the state’s senate education committee. But he reached a breaking point when Republican state lawmakers walked out of a senate education committee meeting as opponents of the state’s version of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill were discussing why it was harmful.

“It really showed that they just don’t care,” Kleinmahon told CNN. “They are not going to support our children; they are not going to support our family.”

Almost four percent of adults in Louisana identify as LGBTQ+, according to the Movement Advancement Project. And its data shows 28 percent of LGBTQ+ adults are raising children there. 

The Republican-led legislature moved forward anyway, sending those bills to the governor in Baton Rouge, as the Los Angeles Blade reported. On July, 18, lawmakers voted to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ vetoes of their anti-LGBTQ+ bills. His veto of anti-trans legislation survived the vote to override, but Louisiana will join 22 other states banning gender-affirming care in 2024.

The surgeon and his family bid farewell to New Orleans on Aug. 24.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jake Kleinmahon (@heartdoctordaddyshark)

Kleinmahon is now working as the director of Pediatric Heart Transplant, Heart Failure, and ventricular assist devices at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens, and Louisiana has only two pediatric surgeons available as of press time. 

“Although we love New Orleans and we love Louisiana with all of our hearts,” Kleinmahon said, echoing his Instagram posts, “We can’t raise our children in this environment.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jake Kleinmahon (@heartdoctordaddyshark)

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana state Senate on Monday, following a national conservative movement targeting LGBTQ+ youth, approved three measures that target LGBTQ+ rights. The bills now head to the state’s Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, one of which has spurred calls for the governor to veto from leading civil rights advocacy groups including the ACLU.

House Bill 648, a ban on trans youth gender-affirming health care, passed on a 29-10 vote that along party lines. HB 648 is the only bill of the three to receive a veto-proof majority vote in both House and Senate should the governor veto it, which sources say is highly likely.

“This extreme government overreach harms everyone in our state, especially transgender Louisianans, and we all deserve better,” ACLU spokesperson Kari Elgin said in a statement.

The local newspaper, The Advocate reported, the Senate voted Monday for HB 466, the ban on talk of gender and sex in school classrooms, on a 29-9 vote, a two-thirds majority; and for HB Bill 81, the pronoun bill, on a 31-8 vote, also a two-thirds majority. However, the House passed each of those bills earlier in session without two-thirds majority votes.

Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley released the following statement:

“From doctors’ offices to classrooms, Louisiana’s extremist legislators show no shame in assaulting the freedoms of those different from them. Blocking teachers from providing the safe and inclusive spaces that LGBTQ+ youth so desperately need is an unconscionable act. There is absolutely nothing inappropriate about being LGBTQ+ or in acknowledging LGBTQ+ issues and people. Furthermore, denying transgender and non-binary youth access to best-practice, life-saving medical care puts their lives in very real danger.  

These bills are a desperate and cruel effort by radical politicians in Louisiana to marginalize and erase the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth. The Human Rights Campaign strongly condemns these discriminatory bills and calls on Gov. Bel Edwards to veto them.”

There was opposition to the trans youth healthcare ban from Senator Republican Committee Chairman Fred Mills, of Parks, joined who had joined with the Democrats in opposition. The bill killed by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, which Mills is chair of on May 24, which was thought to have effectively killed the bill for this legislative session.

According to the Advocate after weeks of political maneuvering that saw it revived by the full Senate as political pressure mounted from conservative interest groups and then approved last week by a second Senate panel, sending it back to the full chamber.

Last month Mills, who expressed his trust in science and health care providers before joining Democrats in opposition.

“I guess I’ve always believed in my heart of hearts that a decision should be made by a patient and a physician,” Mills said.

Speaking to the Advocate Monday, Mills said his vote was driven by his belief that decisions about medical care should remain between doctors and patients. He said Monday that blowback to his vote, which included threats from local and national conservatives, came as a surprise because he was unaware of the “cultural war” the issue was enmeshed in.

“This is probably one of the biggest blessings of my life, this controversy,” he said. “I’ve been attacked nationwide by people with hate. But I do not hate these people. I know God blesses them.”

Related:

Bill to ban healthcare for trans youth defeated in Louisiana Senate

BATON ROUGE – House Bill 648, a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for transgender children in Louisiana was defeated by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee’s vote effectively killing the bill for this legislative session.

“The Senate Health and Welfare Committee has chosen to protect Louisiana’s transgender children by rejecting HB-648. This is a powerful win for transgender children and their families. We lift up and celebrate the incredible families, advocates, providers, and lawmakers who worked to stop this dangerous bill that targeted transgender children and stripped rights from their parents,” a spokesperson for the ACLU of Louisiana said in a statement.

“The fight to protect the rights of transgender children and their families is far from over. But make no mistake, as states across the country pass harmful bills that mirror HB648, today’s committee vote matters, and sends a powerful message that will be heard nationwide.”

The committee hearing room was filled to nearly over capacity with trans Louisianians, their supporters and allies. According to New Orleans Public Radio 89.9 FM WNNO: The committee killed the bill in a narrow 5 to 4 vote mostly split along party lines after hours of emotional testimony and contentious debate in the packed room. Republican Committee Chairman Fred Mills, of Parks, joined Democrats in opposition.

During the at times contentious debate, anti-trans opponents and Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Michael “Gabe” Firment, R-Pollock, the legislation’s author, repeatedly referred to gender-affirming care and surgery for transgender minors as a “mutilation” of childrens’ bodies. They also claimed these treatments are “experimental.”

Dr. Quentin Van Meter, a pediatric endocrinologist from Atlanta, Georgia, told the panel, “We are flying an airplane while we build the airplane,” while others backing the bill rejected the that banning gender-affirming care would lead to worse mental health conditions for minors.

Opponents pointed out that childrens’ inability to make significant life decisions and because of that, legally minors cannot purchase alcohol or get a tattoo, there’s no reason to allow them to transition.

A trans advocate, Dr. Clifton Mixon, a Louisiana psychologist who works with trans youth in the state, rebuked the idea that doctors are mutilating childrens’ genitalia. In his testimony, he also pointed out how rarely these procedures occur in the state: From 2017 to 2021, there weren’t any gender-affirming surgical procedures performed on minors in Louisiana, according to a Louisiana Department of Health study published in 2022.

WNNO noted that state Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, said he was concerned that the bill would take away parental rights and called the bill “a solution looking for a problem.”

Luneau said he believes every person who testified, including those that are happy with and those who regret their decision to transition. But lawmakers cannot legislate individual’s decisions, he said.

Luneau made the motion to defer the bill. The decision came down to chairman Mills, who expressed his trust in science and health care providers before joining Democrats in opposition.

“I guess I’ve always believed in my heart of hearts that a decision should be made by a patient and a physician,” Mills said.

By Wesley Muller | BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana House of Representatives passed a so-called Don’t Say Gay bill Tuesday that would prohibit teachers from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation, and it would protect only teachers and parents who hold conservative views of transgender rights. 

House Bill 466, sponsored by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, passed in a 67-28 vote. Six Democrats joined with Republicans on the measure, including Reps. Roy Adams of Jackson, Chad Brown of Plaquemine, Mack Cormier of Belle Chasse, Kenny Cox of Natchitoches, C. Travis Johnson of Vidalia, and Pat Moore of Monroe.

At the same time, five Republicans voted against it: Reps. Mary DuBuisson of Slidell, Barbara Freiberg of Baton Rouge, Stephanie Hilferty of Metairie, Tanner Magee of Houma, and Richard Nelson of Mandeville.

The bill is much broader than a similar measure passed in Florida and recently expanded that would apply to all K-12 grades. Horton’s proposal applies to any school employee or volunteer, and it covers discussions in the classroom and during any extracurricular activity.

Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, asked if such a law would prohibit civics classes from covering U.S. Supreme Court cases on same-sex marriage. No one answered her question.

Florida’s law also makes allowances for situations in which a student may be subject to physical or emotional abuse by their parents. It allows school personnel to withhold information from a parent if they believe disclosure might result in abuse, abandonment or neglect. Horton’s bill has nothing like that.

Similar to a bill the House passed Monday, Horton’s legislation would further prohibit the use of a student’s preferred pronoun that differs from the gender listed on their birth certificate unless a student’s parent provides written permission. However, her bill would allow a teacher to ignore a parent’s permission for certain religious or moral reasons. 

Only parents and teachers who take the more conservative position of refusing to accept a child’s preferred pronoun would be protected under Horton’s proposal. Her bill makes no allowances for teachers who might hold moral or religious views that would compel them to accommodate transgender students who don’t have their parents’ permission.

Florida’s law contains no prohibitions on pronoun or name use. 

Horton accused Louisiana teachers of indoctrinating students with certain ideologies and said children shouldn’t be “socially engineered” at school. She added that no schools, school boards or school districts in Louisiana have expressed any opposition to her effort.

When asked for specific instances of indoctrination, she said she saw a tweet in which a teacher claimed to “delight” in causing confusion by dressing like a man on some days and a female on other days.

In response, Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, pointed out that Horton’s bill would do nothing to stop teachers from dressing in ways that might confuse their students. 

Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Central, said a teacher who speaks with a student about gender identity is essentially engaging in “malpractice” because such discussions should be left to medical professionals.

The bill next heads to the Senate for consideration.

Correction: Six Democrats voted in favor of House Bill 466. A previous version of this article left out one of the names.

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Wes Muller traces his journalism roots back to 1997 when, at age 13, he built and launched a hyper-local news website for his New Orleans neighborhood. In the years since then, he has freelanced for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and worked on staff at the Sun Herald in Biloxi, WAFB-9 News CBS in Baton Rouge, and the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi.

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The preceding piece was previously published by the Louisiana Illuminator and is republished by permission.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence.

Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.

NEW ORLEANS – Weather predictions and forecasting can sometimes seem like an inartistic interpretation of the sciences behind the subject and when you’re in front of a television audience on a news cast? Well that oft times leads to criticism- when you get the forecast wrong.

Recently though for veteran openly gay Fox 8 New Orleans meteorologist David Bernard, a bit of criticism turned ugly and homophobic. Writing on his personal Facebook page, Bernard relayed what happened:

“I received a disturbing email yesterday from a person who was upset about the forecast. After 30 years I can stand and accept the criticism when I get it wrong.

What I won’t accept are personal attacks about me. This individual sent me this email using his company email which I’m refraining from posting at this time since I don’t know if it is his own or owned by others.

And by the way the word faggot has two G’s”

Bernard decided that in light of this nasty hate filled diatribe he would turn a negative into a positive.

“I love all of you. Let me make clear that I am doing ok. Being an out gay man in public has had its struggles especially 30 years ago when I got into television but because of the support of so many family members, friends and people like you it has gotten much easier. But the reality is it is NOT easy for many people still today who feel marginalized. Comments like the one in the email are like a death by a thousand cuts for those that don’t have that support network in place. I have supported the Trevor Project over the years and made a donation today. I invite you to do the same or to any other organization that helps those who have less or are made to feel they are less.”

Bernard then left the following link for viewers, followers and those wishing to donate:

https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/63307/#!/donation/checkout

Support Homepage

BATON ROUGE – The measure titled the ‘the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,’ SB 44 took effect Monday banning transgender women and girls from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender at all public and some private elementary and secondary schools and colleges in Louisiana.

The measure became law after the state’s Democratic Governor Gov. John Bel Edwards decided to take not action on the legislation. Last year the governor had vetoed a similar measure, which was also introduced by Republican state Sen. Beth Mizell, which Edwards had labeled “a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana,” in his veto statement.

The governor noted in his veto last July: “As I have said repeatedly when asked about this bill, discrimination is not a Louisiana value, and this bill was a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana. Even the author of the bill acknowledged throughout the legislative session that there wasn’t a single case where this was an issue.”

During a press conference after his veto Edwards told reporters:

“I would rather the headlines going out from today be that Louisiana did what was right and best. We rejected a play out of a national playbook that just had no place in Louisiana. That bill wasn’t crafted for our state, I mean go read it and look at the arguments that were made. None of that applies here,” Edwards said.

He further said that the bill was “mean” because it targets “the most emotionally fragile children in the state of Louisiana.” 

“We have to be better than that,” Edwards said. “We have to be better than that.” 

On Monday, June 5, at his press briefing the governor noted that it was clear to him that lawmakers would move to override his veto if he issued another one this year. He added that he remains completely opposed to the ban.

“Whether it’s intended or not, the effect is to tell — send a strong message to at least some of these young people that they shouldn’t be who they think they are, who they believe they are, who they know that they are,” he said. “And I find that very distressing. I do believe that we can be better than that.”

The law requires that participation in sports will be defined by a student’s “biological sex” as listed on the student’s official birth certificate “which is entered at or near the time of the student’s birth.”

The legislation also protects schools, coaches and other school employees enforcing the ban from any legal action and allows cisgender women to seek legal action if they allege that participation by a Trans athlete allowed by a school “deprived them of an athletic opportunity” because of a violation of the ban.

“Louisiana enacting an anti-trans sports ban marks the 25th anti-trans bill passed this year. Pride Month should be a time of celebration, not one of fear and anxiety. According to The Trevor Project’s research, 83% of transgender and nonbinary youth said that they have worried about transgender people being denied the ability to play sports due to state or local laws. Nearly 1 in 5 attempted suicide in the past year,” said Carrie Davis, Chief Community Officer for The Trevor Project. “This Pride, we need our cisgender and straight allies, especially those in government, sports, healthcare, and the business world, to speak out and take action for the transgender and nonbinary youth under attack. We can promote fairness in sports without sidelining all transgender students in the process, but we also know these attacks are not about fairness in sports — they’re about our very existence. The press must recognize that these bills are part of a larger effort to erase transgender and nonbinary youth by making it virtually impossible to grow up trans.”