Former Republican lawmaker Bob Heleringer has criticized the GOP’s efforts to pass anti-transgender legislation in Kentucky, calling it “a bad look for the party of Lincoln” in a recent radio ad. The bill, which would restrict the lives of transgender youths, would ban access to gender-affirming health care and limit the bathrooms they can use. Teachers would also be allowed to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use.
The bill was passed with veto-proof margins in the legislature, where Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers. Opponents of the bill are trying to fend off an override of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the measure, and the Fairness Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in Kentucky, has paid for radio ads featuring well-known Republicans speaking out against the bill.
Former GOP state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, in one of the ads, criticized his party’s efforts, asking if they worked for years to gain legislative majorities in Kentucky “just to wage an all-out war against defenseless transgender children?” The bill’s supporters argue that they are trying to protect children from undertaking gender-affirming treatments they might regret as adults, but research shows that such regret is rare.
The Family Foundation, a faith-based organization in Kentucky, is urging lawmakers to override the veto, saying that Beshear put “radical sexual ideology above protecting Kentucky children from harm.” The bill is part of a national movement by Republican state lawmakers approving extensive measures that restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people this year, from bills targeting transgender athletes and drag performers to measures limiting gender-affirming care.
Transgender medical treatments have long been available in the United States and are endorsed by major medical associations. The bill would not allow schools to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age, and it would require school districts to devise bathroom policies that would not allow transgender children to use the bathroom aligned with their gender identities.
Featuring well-known Republicans in the ads was “intentional for us to show the support on both sides of the aisle, which we know exists” in opposing the bill, said Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign. However, the strategy has been criticized by Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, who said it “crosses a line.”