North Carolina Gov. Cooper vetoes GOP bills focused on LGBTQ, gender identity issues

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a trio of Republican bills targeting the discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools and the availability of gender transition services for minors on Thursday.

The Republican-held state legislature is likely to override Cooper’s veto, as it has done for similar pieces of legislation in recent months. Cooper argued the bills are part of “culture wars” and have no place in law.

The first of the bills is a Florida-style parental rights bill requiring schools to notify parents if their children seek to change their names or pronouns. It also bans the discussion of LGBTQ issues in elementary school.

“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,” Cooper said in a statement.

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The other two bills relate to transgender issues. One bans access to surgery and puberty blockers for minors, and the other prohibits biological men from playing on female sports teams.

Cooper argues the bills instruct doctors to ignore “approved medical protocols” and effectively make the government “both the parent and the doctor.”

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Meanwhile, Republicans have been largely dismissive of Cooper’s opposition, confident in their ability to override his veto as they have done before.

“Gov. Cooper has no interest in supporting female athletes, only his far-left donors that want to erase women by refusing to acknowledge biology,” said state Sen. Vickie Sawyer, a Republican who sponsored the sports bill.

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North Carolina Republicans recently overrode Cooper’s veto on a 12-week abortion restriction law in May.

The legislation outlawed most abortions after the 12-week mark, with exemptions for complicated cases, such as when the life of the mother is at risk.

Overriding the governor’s veto requires a supermajority, or three-fifths of each chamber.