Arkansas becomes first U.S. state to approve anti-transgender law

A day after Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, both legislative chambers in the state voted to override the governor’s decision.

The move makes Arkansas the first U.S. state to approve the “dangerous” anti-transgender bill, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

On Monday, Hutchinson called House Bill 1570 a “vast government overreach,” NPR reported.

The legislation would set “new standards of legislative interference with physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people,” he told reporters.

But the Republican-majority legislature disagreed.

“Governor Hutchinson listened to trans youth and their doctors, the state legislature clearly did not,” Sam Brinton, VP of advocacy and government affairs of The Trevor Project, told the Daily News in an email.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (Staci Vandagriff/)

“We knew this override could happen, but it is nonetheless devastating because we also know it could have deadly consequences. It is not extreme or sensational to say that this group of young people, who already experience disproportionate rates of violence and suicide attempts, would be put at significantly increased risk of self-harm because of legislation like HB 1570 pushing them farther to the margins of society.”

The organization — which focuses on suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ and questioning youth — said that over the last year there were more than 850 crisis contacts in Arkansas.

However, as troubling as that might sound, “that’s less than 6% of the number of Arkansas’s LGBTQ youth who we estimate to be in crisis and could benefit from our services,” the group said.

The American Civil Liberties Union tweeted Tuesday afternoon that, “we are preparing litigation as we speak.”

“This bill will drive families, doctors and businesses out of the state, and sends a terrible and heartbreaking message to transgender people who are watching in fear,” the ACLU said in a different tweet.

On Monday evening, ACLU deputy director for transgender justice Chase Strangio tweeted that Hutchinson’s veto was “a powerful rebuke of this nightmare legislation.”

“Even if this is overridden,” he added in another tweet, “this moment is hugely important and a testament to so many people who put their privacy and their safety on the line to organize and defend trans lives.”

Last week Hutchinson signed into law two pieces of legislation that directly target the LGBTQ community.

On March 25, he became the second U.S. governor to sign a bill banning transgender women and girls from participating in sports according to their gender identity.

The following day he signed into law the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, which allows health care professionals to deny any non-emergency services to anyone because of religious or moral objections.

The measure, according to human rights rights activists, will give doctors greater powers to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

Those are just two among a record-breaking number of anti-transgender bills introduced in state legislatures this year, according to the HRC. State lawmakers are currently considering 195 anti-LGBTQ bills across the country. Of those, 93 directly target transgender people.

Anti-trans bills have now been introduced in 30 states.

“By overriding the veto on #HB1570, Arkansas has put itself in the lead of a race to the bottom fueled by fear & disinformation,” HRC President Alphonso David tweeted.

“But this fight is not over. We will utilize every available tool to fight for the rights & futures of trans and non-binary youth and their families.”

Brinton also vowed to keep fighting for the rights of the transgender and nonbinary youth in Arkansas.

“Please know that you deserve love and support and to be affirmed in your gender identity. We will not stop fighting until this cruel and illegal ban is overturned,” they said.