Louisiana's Transgender Athlete and Constitutional Carry Bills Get a Second Chance
Last night, the vote was tallied and the Louisiana House and Senate have decided to convene a veto override session to take on Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards’ dozens of vetoes from the 2021 legislative session. Two bills, in particular, are getting all the attention, though.
The first, a bill to bar transgender athletes from competing on teams other than their biological sex, has been a topic of debate as the NCAA and other organizations have threatened to pull events out of states that pass such laws. Edwards vetoed the bill on moral and economic grounds.
The second is a Constitutional carry bill, eliminating the need for a concealed carry license. If you own a gun and passed a background check, you’re good to carry your gun in public. This bill has caused concern as some (including me) worry about an influx of guns into the public square without proper gun education and amid a rising violent crime rate.
I mentioned the other day a veto I would like to see overturned, H.B. 38. This bill would make school boards across the state set up a website that would make their revenue and transactions available to the public. The final passage rate of the bill cut it close to the two-thirds needed to override it in this session, but there are some issues with this and other vetoes.
Several are worried behind the scenes that their votes to override a veto will face retaliation from the Governor through his use of a line-item veto, a specific power of his office that allows him to scratch items individually from the state budget. Their worry is that money dedicated to projects in their districts is at risk and that a vote against Edwards will hurt their district (and their ability to get re-elected).
The bill most likely to see a successful override is the transgender athlete bill. Black legislators supported the bill, making it more likely that Republicans will have the votes they need. It is difficult, though, to see them budge on other issues.
Unless, of course, there is strong leadership in the House and Senate from the Republicans. Page Cortez and Clay Schexnayder have taken a lot of shots from conservatives in the state over their more hands-off and, frankly, soft approach to issues important to their members and voters. This would be an opportunity for them to shore up their political and conservative bonafides by whipping votes, making sure their members stick with the party or risk less than ideal redistricting coming up.
On the redistricting issue, Republicans have an opportunity to secure more votes for veto overrides by offering black legislators more majority-minority districts at the expense of white liberal trial lawyers who often dominate party direction (much to the chagrin of those black legislators). Politically savvy moves like that would at least show leadership to the rest of the Republicans in the House and Senate, and secure trust in their leadership positions going forward.
The problem is, neither of those men seems willing to be that type of leader. They are content just having the job and having the title. It is unlikely we’ll see that level of leadership from them, which is unfortunate for Republicans who see their near-supermajority status in the House and Senate but can’t get anything done.
There might be one or two vetoes this session, but I don’t think you’ll see a lot of major news coming from this one. Nor will you see Republicans getting some big wins here, despite their numbers.