Republican Blasted by Conservatives After Killing Trans Bill: ‘Disgraced’

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Republican State Senator Fred Mills has come under fire from his fellow conservatives after blocking a bill that would have made it illegal to conduct transgender surgery on children in Louisiana.

Mills voted with Democratic lawmakers to stop the legislation passing the Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee, by a margin of 5-4 on May 23.

Laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care for children have already been passed in 19 states, including Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida. Similar legislation has been proposed in other states, with a bill in Wyoming seeking to classify transgender surgery on children as “child abuse.”

Speaking to the USA Today network, the state senator—who had already announced he won’t be seeking re-election—said he stood by his decision despite the criticism leveled at him.

This stock image shows a transgender rights protester pictured in Glasgow, Scotland, in February 2023. Republican State Senator Fred Mills has come under fire from conservative activists after blocking legislation that would have banned transgender surgery on children in Louisiana.
ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/GETTY

The lawmaker commented: “I did like I always do. I listened to the debate and made the vote I thought was right. Why would I want to handcuff a doctor and his or her decision? I think they know more about this than politicians.”

Newsweek has contacted Mills for comment by email.

Mills’ decision to block the legislation in Louisiana sparked a furious response from right-wing activists, both in the state and elsewhere.

Conservative campaigner Greg Price, director of communications at the State Freedom Caucus Network, shared a link to Mills’ contact page on the Louisiana State Senate website, suggesting people get in touch “if you’d like to let Senator Mills know how you feel about him single-handedly killing this bill to ban sex changes for kids.”

The Twitter post was shared by Matt Walsh, a right-wing writer who campaigns against the participation of trans women in women’s sports and gender affirming care for minors.

In a message to his 1.9 million Twitter followers Walsh wrote: “Fred Mills has sided with the butchers and groomers. He will regret it. This is the biggest mistake of his political career, and also the end of his career. He’s going to be infamous and disgraced by his own base. We’ll make sure of that.”

Walsh later released an eight-minute video attacking Mills, who he branded a “gutless worm,” and sharing contact details for his office.

In a statement, the Louisiana Republican Party said it was “deeply disappointed” by Mills’ vote, and called for the legislation to be transferred to a Senate floor vote, where the GOP would have a strong majority.

Earlier this week video of a Washington State pastor calling for the parents of transgender children to be “shot in the back of the head” went viral online, sparking outrage.

He also suggested lawmakers who support gender-affirming care for children should face Nuremberg-style trials, following federal government intervention.

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