The governor called the legislation “a product of the cultural war in America,” adding that his veto comes even though he believed the bill was “well-intended.”
The bill, called the Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, passed the state Senate late last month by a vote of 28-7. The state House passed it in early March by a vote of 70-22.
The bill made what it called an “exception” for some intersex people with unspecified chromosomal makeup and hormone production, and those with difficulties resulting from previous gender-affirming treatments. It also would have banned so-called cross-hormone therapy, a gender-affirming treatment that allows for trans people to change their physical appearance to be more consistent with their gender identity.
This story is breaking and will be updated.