Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed a pair of controversial anti-LGBT bills into law, a day after the state Legislature passed the legislation along party lines on the last day of the legislative session.
Ivey signed SB184, or the Alabama Vulnerable Child Protection Act, which criminalizes gender-affirming surgeries for trans youth.
“There are very real challenges facing our young people, especially with today’s societal pressures and modern culture. I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl,” the governor said in a statement after signing both bills. “We should especially protect our children from these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries when they are at such a vulnerable stage in life. Instead, let us all focus on helping them to properly develop into the adults God intended them to be.”
The governor also signed HB322, dubbed by opponents as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, because an amendment is modeled after Florida legislation banning the teaching of “divisive concepts” in schools.
The bill also only allows people in schools to use the bathroom of the gender listed on their birth certificate.
“Here in Alabama, men use the men’s room, and ladies use the ladies’ room – it’s really a no brainer,” Ivey said. “This bill will also ensure our elementary school classrooms remain free from any kind of sex talk. Let me be clear to the media and opponents who like to incorrectly dub this the “Don’t Say Gay” amendment: That is misleading, false and just plain wrong. We don’t need to be teaching young children about sex. We are talking about five-year-olds for crying out loud. We need to focus on what matters – core instruction like reading and math.”
On the final day of the legislative session, Alabama lawmakers added their own version of the “Don’t Say Gay” to a bill already written to target the state’s LGBT population. AL.com wants to hear from you. Email your response in 300 words to jhammontree@reckonsouth.com.