'Fundamentally un-American': NKY, Cincy officials react to KY ban on trans care for kids

Kentucky's Republican-majority legislature voted to override Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of Senate Bill 150 Wednesday, making the ban on youth gender-affirming care law.

The bill, which initially allowed teachers to misgender students, was expanded after a surprise House Education Committee meeting March 16. SB 150 bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender children, requires doctors to detransition kids already undergoing treatment and places other restrictions on schools.

The ban on gender-affirming care goes into effect in late June. Barring any court injunctions, the rest of the bill goes into effect immediately.

Here's what officials and organizations in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati have said about the legislation.

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Covington mayor: Bill will harm Kentucky economy and reputation

Covington Mayor Joe Meyer spoke to The Enquirer Wednesday, hours before Kentucky legislature voted to override the veto.

"The Senate Bill 150 is just cruel and hateful," he said. "It interferes with parental rights, it disrespects the medical community ... I think it sends just a terrible message about Kentuckians."

The mayor said SB 150 will have a negative impact on Kentucky's economy and "reputation across the nation."

Covington's government has put its "flag in the ground," Meyer said on LGBTQ+ issues. The city passed its Human Rights Ordinance in 2003 and banned conversion therapy two years ago. Meyer said Kentucky residents who have moved to Covington told him they did so because of the city's inclusiveness.

"It's OK to be you when you're in Covington."

Gov. Andy Beshear: SB 150 'will cause an increase in suicide'

In his official veto message, Gov. Beshear said Friday Senate Bill 150 "will endanger the children of Kentucky."

The governor referenced a 2022 national survey conducted by the Trevor Project that found 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicided in the past year. Nearly one in five transgender and nonbinary kids attempted suicide, according to the survey.

"Improving access to gender-affirming care is an important means of improving health outcomes for the transgender population," Beshear wrote. "Senate Bill 150 will cause an increase in suicide among Kentucky's youth."

The governor shared a similar message with reporters before vetoing the bill: "I will never be able to support a bill that will lead to an increase in suicides."

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Cincinnati official: SB 150 will have a 'profoundly negative impact' on Kentucky youth

SB 150 will have "a profoundly negative impact on children in Kentucky," Cincinnati City Council member Reggie Harris said, adding that it worries him about the future of access to transgender care in Ohio.

"I think it's heartless and it's fundamentally un-American," he said. "It is an American value to protect privacy and to protect choice, and for legislatures to take away the ability for parents and families to make decisions about their lives and their children's lives is absolutely outrageous."

Chris Seelbach, a former council member who championed a series of gay rights initiatives, said kids' medical decisions should be made between their parents and doctors, "not Republican politicians."

"While kids are dying daily from gun violence, Republicans continue to do absolutely nothing, while at the same time spending a lot of effort taking away guaranteed freedoms and liberties from parents, against the expertise of every single major medical association in our country," Seelbach added.

NKY lawmaker: 'This is Florida’s Don't Say Gay bill'

House Minority Whip Rep. Rachel Roberts attended Wednesday's LGBTQ+ rally at Kentucky’s state Capitol opposing SB 150. When state legislature first passed the bill March 16, Roberts apologized to LGBTQ+ Kentuckians.

"If you are queer, if you are trans, if you just feel slighted by this body, I hope you hear my voice," Roberts, whose district includes parts of Campbell County, said at the time. "... You are needed. You are necessary and you are loved unconditionally by at least me, and I know many others. I am sorry of the shameful acts of this body on this day."

On Twitter, Roberts also compared language in the bill that prohibits teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation to Florida's House Bill 1557.

"This is Florida’s DON’T SAY GAY bill, all the way through high school!" she wrote.

Kentucky Rep. Kim Banta, a Republican and former teacher, spoke out against the bill in a Forward Kentucky article earlier this month.

"Banning topics unnecessarily muzzles teachers from engaging in discussions and answering student questions," the article, which she co-wrote, read.

Banta, whose district includes parts of Boone and Kenton counties, also referred to language in the bill that allows teachers to misgender students.

"Using students’ preferred nicknames and pronouns is a simple way to build mutual respect, trust, and cooperation," it read.

On Wednesday, Sen. Max Wise, who co-sponsored SB 150, said it supports teachers' freedom of speech.

"The bill passed the Senate and the House with both bipartisan support and reinforces a positive atmosphere in the classroom and removes unnecessary distractions and mandating the use of specific pronouns in our schools," he said.

Three Northern Kentucky lawmakers, Sens. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, Gex Williams and John Schickel, co-sponsored the bill.

Williams, whose district includes parts of Boone and Kenton counties, previously argued that the bill would address rising suicide rates that he believes are related to receiving gender-affirming care, Link NKY reported.

“When you introduce drugs and you try to fight 30 or 40 trillion cells in your body, using drugs, the outcome is not going to be good,” Williams said when the legislation first passed in the Senate.

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Cincinnati Children's evaluating SB 150's potential impact

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has a transgender health clinic that provides "medical and psychosocial support" to patients ages 5 through 24, according to its website.

“At Cincinnati Children’s, we believe that trained medical professionals are best positioned to diagnose and treat patients," hospital spokesperson Jennifer Tan said in an emailed statement to The Enquirer. "Cincinnati Children’s will evaluate SB 150 and its possible impact on how care can be delivered to Kentucky patients under 18, including seeking to understand all the clinical and legal ramifications of the legislation.”

Planned Parenthood blames drag show cancelation on 'hateful' legislation

Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates released a statement after a drag show in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, was canceled and blamed "hateful and stigmatizing" legislation for an increase in threats of anti-LGBTQ+ violence.

“For the first time, Pikeville Pride announced the cancellation of a drag show due to ‘extreme threats of violence’ unlike ever before seen in the community. This increase in extremist behavior is a direct response to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation being pushed by our elected leaders," Tamarra Wieder, director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Kentucky, said in an email.

"... Planned Parenthood honors the resilience of LGBTQ+ communities that continue to face these unconscionable attacks on their bodily autonomy, access to health care, and humanity," Wieder added. "We are with you. We love you. We will never stop fighting for you."

Cincinnati trans support group: Access to care is 'matter of life and death'

Jeff Martin, president of the Queen City Freedom Band, said Senate Bill 150 is "reminiscent of a society 60 years in the past."

"It's too late for lawmakers to try to legislate 'don't say gay' because it's already been said," Martin said. "We are here. We aren't going anywhere. The strength of the LGBTQIA+ community can be seen in the very youth being targeted."

"Gender-affirming care is a matter of life and death for not only Kentucky, but all trans youth," Cathy Allison, secretary of the Transgender Advocacy Council, an umbrella group that supports local transgender support groups, said. "Without it, youth stand to lose care that validates them as humans worthy of the same rights as everyone else. This is an issue of equality. Trans youth deserve the right to work with their families and doctors to get the care they need."

Transform Cincy is a nonprofit that provides free wardrobes, and other services, to transgender kids who are transitioning.

"Evidence-based research and mental health experts have shown that gender-affirming care is what's best," co-founder Tristan Vaught said. "These are private matters between parents, children and their doctors."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky bans care for trans kids: NKY, Cincinnati leaders react