Kentucky lawmakers override governor's veto of anti-transgender bill

Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Wednesday overrode Democratic Governor Andy Beshear's veto of an anti-transgender bill.

The bill bans access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth and restricts the bathrooms that they can use.

Republicans hold supermajorities in the House and Senate.

Loud protests against the bill were heard in the House gallery. Nineteen protesters were removed and arrested, according to the AP.

The vote took place on the next-to-last day of this year's legislative session.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, called Senate Bill 150 a "desperate and cruel effort by extremist politicians in Kentucky to stigmatize and marginalize and erase the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth."

In vetoing the bill, Beshear said that it allowed "too much government interference" and "rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky has said that it will challenge the bill in court.

Kentucky joins a growing list of states that restrict or ban gender-affirming care for minors, including Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

The bill also prohibits schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age.