Bills are now going to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to consider as Alabama becomes the last red state to seek legislation and policies aimed at trans youth. Ivey, who is running for re-election, has not said whether she will sign the measures. The Alabama House of Representatives voted 66-28 in favor of legislation making it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a doctor prescribing adolescent inhibitors or hormones, or having surgery to help transgender people. under 19 years. The issue of trans and LGBTQ identity has become one of the “wedges” of the Republican Party in order to secure votes because it is popular at the party base. Lawmaker Neil Rafferty, the only openly gay member of the Alabama legislature, appeared to be struggling to contain his anger and composure as lawmakers headed to the polls. “This is wrong,” Rafferty said. “You will sit there and campaign for the family to be the foundation of our nation; but what this bill is doing is completely undermining it. It completely undermines family rights, health rights and access to health care.” Spokesman Neil Rafferty speaks during the debate on trans bills on Thursday. The law also prohibits early classroom instruction on sexual identity and gender identity. (Mickey Welsh / The Montgomery Advertiser / The Associated Press)
Republican lawmaker Wes Allen, who sponsors the bill in Parliament, argued during Thursday night’s debate that trans young people are not old enough to make decisions about sex-affirming drugs. “Their brains are not developed to make long-term decisions about what these drugs and surgeries do to their bodies,” Allen said. MP Chris England, who serves as chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, said the measure already targets vulnerable children and essentially tells them they are not welcome in Alabama. “You say they are children. They are not. It is about gaining political points and using these children as collateral damage,” England said. Lawmaker Wes Allen backed the bill, which makes it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a doctor prescribing inhibitors or hormones, or surgery to help transgender people under the age of 19. (Mickey Welsh / The Montgomery Advertiser / The Associated Press)
The bill would also require school counselors, nurses and others to tell parents if a child reveals that they believe they are trans. An Ivey spokesman did not immediately respond to a text message asking if the governor would sign the measure. “I want the governor to know that he does not have to sign it, he can veto it,” said Jeff Walker, whose 15-year-old daughter, Harley, is a trans. “All you have to do is hurt the Alabama families with these bills.” Arkansas passed a similar law in 2021, but it was put on hold by the courts. Alabama defense teams have vowed to quickly challenge the measure if Ivy signs it into law. In a written statement, Chase Strangio, deputy director of Trans Justice with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, described the Alabama measure as “the deadliest, most sweeping and hostile law targeting trans people in the country.” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday that the Department of Justice had warned states that such laws and policies could violate the US Constitution and federal law. “Today’s vote in Alabama will only hurt the children,” he said.

Separate bill for baths, education

Lawmakers passed separate legislation Thursday on public school bathrooms and discussions on gender and sexual identity in the first grade. The senators voted 26-5 in favor of the requirement that K-12 students only use multi-person bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender on their original birth certificate and not on their current gender ID. Republicans in the Senate also added language similar to a Florida law that critics called the “Do Not Say Homosexual” measure. The Alabama language would “prohibit teaching in the classroom or discussing sexual orientation or gender identity” for students in kindergarten until the fifth grade. The Alabama proposal goes beyond Florida law, which includes kindergarten through the third grade.